(Topic ID: 124615)

AMH Club - A Spooky Start

By goatdan

8 years ago


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#11 8 years ago

I ordered my AMH just over five months ago, so I'm expecting to hear from KT soon. This will be my first NIB. I did not play before I ordered, but I got hooked by reading the pinside threads and watching the videos posted here. For mods, I have already picked up the shooter road, topper, target decals, and boney flippers. Looking forward to installing them soon!

1 week later
#82 8 years ago

I heard from Spooky that they had my down payment (the standard half) exactly five months and one week ago. I wrote to KT last night for a status check, and she said that my game would be playtested in about a week, at which point she would send me an e-mail requesting shipping info. So presumably I'll have my game soon, and the time from which I sent my check (November 11th) to delivery looks like it will be about six months. I don't know yet if they actually arrange shipping for me or if I do that (I assume it costs about an extra $300), and I don't know if they wait for my final check to clear--they haven't requested it yet--before shipping or not. Any comments from anyone who has received a game on the final process might be helpful to all.

KT also noted that the production process had slowed over the last month or so due to Spooky attending shows. As she said: "Charlie won't let the minions ship a game without having him go over it personally before boxing it." I'd say that's a good thing.

#84 8 years ago

Great. Thanks!

#87 8 years ago

LOL--or beer cans, I know.

1 week later
#119 8 years ago

Shooter rod:

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/amh-ghost-shooter-rod-in-progress

Target decals:

ebay.com link: NEW AMERICAS MOST HAUNTED Cushioned 3M Target Protectors Pinball Machine

Still haven't gotten to test them out in my game though. Still waiting on that. Two weeks ago spooky let me know my game was about to be playtested, so I'm expecting to hear about shipping soon.

#121 8 years ago

Thanks, Jeff. It was great meeting you at Allentown. Good luck with your upcoming business venture!

#143 8 years ago

Okay, I got the word from KT that my game will be delivered on Memorial Day. I placed my order on November 11, so if you count the time from when I actually placed my order to delivery to my door it's six months and two weeks. I also paid the first half by check, so that could have slowed things down a little, and you factor in the holidays, spooky's time at shows, and the fact that they have increased their staff since November and I would think that the turnaround times now would likely be faster than mine. I bugged KT with e-mails once in a while during the process when I thought enough time had passed or when I had specific questions, and she always answered quickly.

A few tidbits that I picked up from communications with KT in case they hold true and are useful to others who have ordered:

- I offered to send the second-half payment as a gift via paypal, but she said that's a no-no, and that they have to pay the paypal fees as a registered LLC.
- KT said that the Chase credit card offers a direct easy pay option that goes directly to her bank.
- Spooky arranges shipping for you and ships the games UPS, which only picks up at their shop on Tuesday and Friday, then arrives at your shipping address two business days later (i.e., Thursday or Monday). For me, the game is shipping to Pennsylvania.

Of course, I can't speak for spooky about whether these details will be true for you as well, and I assume you could, say, arrange for a different shipper if you wanted to do that, but I just thought I'd throw these details out there in case they're useful to others who have been, like me, waiting and are eager for pretty much ANY details. Once my game arrives, I'll probably post something, including what number it is, but I'm hoping to spend the Memorial Day holiday setting it up and playing it first!

#144 8 years ago

Oh, and my shipping was $289.45.

1 week later
#185 8 years ago

Game #54 is now delivered to my house in State College, PA. I'm having a blast with it. If any pinsiders want to come to town to play sometime you're welcome to do so--just PM me. I also have a BK2K, Road Kings, and HS2 that you're welcome to play. Also available in town at a hookah lounge/music store are Iron Man, BSD, LOTR, POTC, and WoZ.

Included with the game were already-installed plastic protectors and what I assume is a spare servo or servo hookup, and it all came in a cardboard box signed by Charlie (I'll put the autographed cardboard box up for auction on eBAY soon--no reserve!--even more valuable if your name is also Joe! Here are a few game pix with mods installed.

AMH.JPGAMH.JPG cards and flippers.JPGcards and flippers.JPG game number.JPGgame number.JPG minion sticker.JPGminion sticker.JPG Shooter.JPGShooter.JPG target decals.JPGtarget decals.JPG unwrapped game.JPGunwrapped game.JPG signed carton.JPGsigned carton.JPG
1 week later
11
#210 8 years ago

SOME THOUGHTS AFTER OWNING AMH FOR 10 DAYS

I thought I’d share some of my thoughts and experiences, especially for the benefit of those awaiting their machines.

First and most importantly, I love AMH and spooky. I rate the fun factor for this game in the top 5 that I’ve ever played, and the same goes for difficulty level. Especially because of the upper slings, generous outlanes, and trajectories on the lower half of the playfield the game is—as many others have noted—absolutely brutal. I've managed to defeat 4 ghost bosses, but that's it. Even after close to 200 games, I’m still hearing new callouts and with impressively "sincere" delivery, and I’m finding myself talking aloud to the psychic and telling her to shut the hell up. I would repeat some callouts that I think are especially hilarious, but I think it’s more fun to discover them for yourself. My favorite is one of the most simple—nothing but a cheesy, "chilling" scream as the ball drains. These people understand satire.

And I can’t say enough about Charlie’s responsiveness with tech support. As you’ll see in some of what I post below, he has been immediately responsive (twice on Sundays, when I tend to have time to do pin work), detailed, energetic, and empathetic. It's hard (and necessary) for me to ask for help with pins, but he has made it easy for me. And most importantly to me, he has taken responsibility and been honest. In that same spirit, as I detail some of the problems I’ve run into with the machine, I stress that my intention is to be honest and helpful to other AMH owners—never to diss spooky.

PLAYING TIPS:
It might not be profound to say it, but my number one tip is to master calling the hellevator and learn to combine it with other ghost bosses. The safety net that provides as well as the increased scoring opportunities can’t be overemphasized. I’ve found that you can easily trap and backhand the shot from the right flipper, and that you can easily backhand the door from the left flipper. In fact, catching the ball at the correct angle when in motion, you can actually backhand every shot, including the jump ramp and scoop from the right flipper (rare, but possible).

Also, if you haven’t seen them, here’s a nice summary from another thread where Ben gives some playing tips:

1) During normal play pop bumpers advance War Fort and Bar Ghost. Once those modes are complete pops always advance Jackpot value. So beating those modes early gives you more jackpot building time later on.

2) In Hotel multiball, hitting the Ghost Targets adds a 2x, 3x and up to 4x Jackpot Multiplier. It's risky, but can score big. When you're ready to collect, shoot the Hellavator to drop the targets and hit ghost loop to score!

3) There are alternate goals during all Ghost battles. Try shooting the door, loops and other flashing shots to find them.

4) When you make a shot, a camera icon will flash to show you the next shot in the Combo Chain, which can go up to a 9x Combo.

5) Standard Hellavator Multiball can be stacked onto Hospital Ghost, War Fort, and Bar Ghost modes.

6) Hellavator MB and Minion MB can be stacked if you have Hell MB active as you kill the 3rd Minion. (but it doesn't work the other way around) Those modes by themselves are 3 ball, stacked they can be up to 4 ball.

TOPPER HOOKUP ISSUE:
When I compared my Laseriffic topper instructions to my power supply, I did not find a match. Picture of my supply is at the bottom of this post.

As Charlie let me know via e-mail, the lack of a match was due to my looking at the wrong supply. I was looking at the one in the middle of the cabinet (for the 48 V coils) and the correct one was in the left rear of the cabinet. Once things were cleared up and hooked up, I let Joe Kace from Laseriffic know, and he said that he had gotten about a dozen e-mails on this, so I’m not the only impaired party out there. I was smart enough to ask for help, though, and Joe told me that someone did just plug into the earth ground on the wrong one and blew up both topper and supply.

HELLEVATOR ISSUE:
During a multiball the hellevator (with a ball in it) got stuck partway down and then kept going up and partway down for quite a while as I continued a long multiball. I didn’t even notice it until the multiball was over and a co-player pointed it out. After removing the ball I did some hellevator testing, and again it just kept going partway up and down and I couldn’t figure out why until I reached a screwdriver down and shoved something out of the way that was blocking its path. Turns out what had happened was that the curved spring steel inside the hellevator had slipped down out of its track just enough to block it from going all the way down. In the process the servo also started smoking (thankfully, spooky had included a spare servo so I was able to swap it in). As I disassembled and reassembled, I found that the gear stick below the hellevator seemed to have become a bit twisted, as had the servo motor bracket with the three screws, which also had a crack running all the way through it (this was partly my bad, because I should have figured out what was stopping its path before continuing to test it and make it worse). With duct tape I was able to reinforce the bracket enough and tape the spring steel in place (otherwise it continued to keep slipping out during subsequent gameplay), so I got things running again.

I wrote to Charlie and he immediately took the blame (or gave it to the Minions, tee hee), saying that he had not personally inspected my game and that what had likely happened was that a Minion forgot to install a fifth “retaining screw” in the hellevator top, bottom, or both, and thus the spring steel had slipped out from its track. Indeed, I can now verify that there was no retaining screw on the top nor bottom. Charlie generously sent me a replacement hellevator immediately, a few helpful pix, and detailed instructions for installing it.

Here are the instructions from Charlie, with a few pix representing some of what I’ve described above at the bottom of this post:

Ok... with the game off, remove the screw shown in the photo and remove the gear. Don't put the new hellevator in yet. You shouldn't have to remove anything above the playfield except the piece of spring steel that is just stuck on to the top with double sided tape.

Once you have the mounting bracket & servo installed (again, NO HELLEVATOR CART YET), carefully turn the game on. The servo will go to it's down "home" position. Turn the game back off.

Now install the new hellevator cart. Make sure the top is just a tick higher than the ramp so you don't create a ball trap. Put the spring steel back on the top so it doesn't collide with the top of the metal when the hellevator goes to the up position. Put the gear back on with the single screw.

Once installed, go to "servo" in the test menu. Send the hellevator up. Feel it... make sure it NOT making contact with the top or you'll burn up the servo. Then send it down and feel it. If it's out of position you'll feel it chatter. TURN THE GAME OFF IMMEDIATELY if there is any chatter. It means the servo is out of position and needs to be adjusted.

Make your adjustments with the screw / gear. Just turn it one tooth at a time.

Sounds complicated, but it's really not. I'm sure you'll get it.

Charlie also stressed lubing the moving parts (the gear on the servo, the hellevator shaft, and the gear “stick” below the Hellevator) with Superlube.

I think the world of this guy and his business for the way he owned up to and corrected the problem, which was, in all honesty, partly my bad.

BALL STICKS:
Plenty of them—next to the lower pop bumper, behind the hellevator, between the hellevator and ramp, and in the scoop. Some of these are cleared on ball searches, and the lower pop bumper one was taken care of by an extra and larger rubber ring on the post beside the pop bumper (as others have recommended), but the scoop one is worth some mention. I noticed that the ball wasn’t always quite seating itself in the scoop, and was sometimes getting stuck between the actuator arm end and the scoop frame. A slight bend to the end of the actuator did the trick, but I wondered about it and asked Charlie.

His helpful response and a picture of the disassembled scoop follow:

We have to hand make those switches. It’s possible it got bent or is a little out of position. Just so it makes contact with the ball but stays out of the path of the vuk plunger is what it should be.

Indeed, a careful little bend did the trick. And if anyone ever needs it, the scoop microswitch number is D83 0, 1A250 125-250WAC.

BLOWN FUSE:
In the course of my first 100 games, I blew a fuse twice—the one on the left in the group of three on the Pinheck board. Luckily, there was also a pattern. Both times it happened during hospital ghost when ball 2 drained and ball 1 was released for a second chance, and it happened right at the time when the left flipper would usually kick itself three times as a player hint (nifty feature). What seemed to happen both times the fuse blew was that the flipper just went dead rather than kicked (and I may have been holding the flipper up). Haven’t been able to replicate the problem on purpose during gameplay since about 30 games ago.

Charlie suggested inspection of both coil diodes, the EOS switches, and the EOS diodes (yes, the EOS has a diode beneath some shrink wrap), and he had me send him pictures to verify the wiring is correct (it is). Everything checked out and the problem hasn’t recurred, but if it does I think my next step is to replace the left flipper coil, assuming a broken winding or something internal on that coil.

CONCLUSION:
Sorry about the length of this post, but I thought AMH users would find it to be helpful, and once again I have nothing but respect for Spooky. I’ve worked on NIB games from Stern and JJ with similar problems occuring within the first month. That fact along with the plunging downfall of other boutiques makes me all the more impressed with what spooky has already accomplished--much more to come, I'm sure.

cracked, taped bracket.JPGcracked, taped bracket.JPG new bracket.JPGnew bracket.JPG new hellevator bottom.JPGnew hellevator bottom.JPG new hellevator top.JPGnew hellevator top.JPG right vuk.JPGright vuk.JPG servo with connector.JPGservo with connector.JPG
#212 8 years ago

Thanks, and sorry to hear about your PS!

#222 8 years ago
Quoted from SpookyCharlie:

I second that... and I appreciate Joe's patience! I hate when everything isn't right, but it does happen once in a while. We'll be half way through the builds very soon. Granted that's only 75 games, but we still learn how to make them better all the time. Guys like Joe sharing feedback is how we learn. And yes... I do answer on Sundays.
We've got a massive QC checklist these days. Half the stuff on there came from customers and little issues that we needed to correct. Going into game #2, I want the build quality as good as it can possibly be.
Ok, off to bed. Heading to Denver in the morning for the Rocky Mountain Showdown, and hope to see some of you out there!

I’ll say one more thing about why I love spooky so much—they put themselves out there. It takes vision (insanity), optimism (denial), resourcefulness (kids), and courage (balls) to start any small family company based on building and branding a product, but when that product is an original themed pinball machine the odds are even more stacked against you. But spooky is nevertheless out there—not just making machines, but at the shows, on the web, in the pizza shop, on the ball field—and not just serving customers but letting us get to know them and their family and honoring our feedback. I remember my first correspondence with KT a year ago before I had committed to a game. I said I was looking forward to seeing AMH at a show "in the flesh," and she wrote me back that there would be no flesh, only ghosts. And spooky’s debut game doesn’t just have personality, but personalities. Plenty of pins have modes based on characters with backstories, but even those backstories are usually borrowed—and in the case of AMH even the wizard mode has a cute little original backstory (yes, I have now been there once in over 200 games, but failed to complete it). The result, for me, is a charming and wacky little world where a ghost can recommend acid for skin care, and the ghost of a mass murderer can be dismissed as a “loser.” The combination of spooky the company and AMH the title is—dare I say it—“humanizing.”

1 week later
#229 8 years ago

Drain kick 4 (never fails and doesn't over-rattle the balls in the trough)
Ball loader 8 (sometimes failed when weaker)
Autolauncher 6 (this creates just enough randomness for me, but usually launches to pop bumpers, and any stronger and it might go past the left flipper and down the drain)
Right Scoop 2 (comes out somewhere between a dribble and fast--both fine by me, especially given the ball save option on version 20)
Left vuk 7 (lower was a less reliable feed to the habitrail above)
Pop Bumpers 6 (I like the action and I think it reduces ball sticks around the notorious bottom bumper)
Slings 6 (again, I like the action)
Flippers 7 (I feel this gives more control than at the lower settings--especially for backhand shots--but I've tried settings as low as 2 and found the flipper was still plenty strong to make all shots)

I'm sure some players would choose lower settings, especially for the PB, slings, and flippers. I have about 250 games on my machine and no sign of damage yet, but I'm sure it varies by game and PF damage is definitely something to watch for. For example, for the raffle game at the Allentown show (which was NIB on Friday, then played constantly for 2 days), on Saturday there was a chip out of the PF at the right scoop.

Enjoy your game!

1 week later
#243 8 years ago

Got a shipment today of new backbox decals from spooky. My backbox suffered some damage--which I was partially responsible for--so Charlie sent me a new set so I could re-decal my backbox and he did so on spooky's dime. This was more than generous of Charlie and I am so grateful for the decency this company has consistently demonstrated. Pix below.

Also got a spare servo from Hobby-King in today's mail so that I'll have one in case one goes down. I ordered directly from the company and delivery took about three weeks. Charlie says that AMH owners can also order servos directly from spooky. Picture attached to show what comes with the servo.

decals1.jpgdecals1.jpg

decals2.jpgdecals2.jpg

servos.jpgservos.jpg

3 weeks later
#290 8 years ago
Quoted from locustgrovepin:

Mine came last Friday after just over six months and I had to refuse it due to cabinet side art damage. Now I get to wait again assuming it ever finds its way back to Spooky


Very sorry to hear this. My sympathies. My box was certainly damaged in shipping but the shipper pointed it out to me and luckily the cabinet itself was spared. I'm sure Charlie will do all he can to make it right. Hang in there.

#301 8 years ago

Enjoy your games, and please post game numbers once you get them.

#307 8 years ago

Thanks for those numbers!

Just installed the LED upgrade kit myself--ordered from Spooky--and I'm very happy with it. Much richer colors and far less of a "washout." I supplemented in a few places with Cointaker LEDs and a color changing LED in the center Demon Battle insert (cool during attract mode) but I am very happy with the kit upgrade.

#309 8 years ago
Quoted from Kerry_Richard:

Mine is in that group too #65. I pick it up tomorrow!

Hope you have a blast, Kerry! Let us know!

#338 8 years ago

My box was damaged and a bit wet, but I could see that the game was not damaged where the box damage had occurred. I removed one side of the box and looked over the machine before accepting just to be sure.

2 weeks later
#415 8 years ago
Quoted from robertmee:

One last thing I noticed is that on the right hand ball guide that leads to the jump ramp, the curvature of the guide doesn't follow the plastic at all. I've got almost a 3/8" gap between the guide and the plastic behind it and it looks like a$$.

I have less of a gap, but there is one. Picture below. It would be nice if there were no such gap, but it doesn't really bother me. Perhaps it was done to enable the ramp jump shot to be smoother. Also, I notice that these side rails do not have much holding them in place under the plastics and that they're pretty pliable, so there could be some variance from machine to machine, and an adjustment or fix could be made by owners if they don't mind the risk. Again, it hasn't bothered me personally nor does it affect gameplay negatively for me, so I haven't worried about it.

AMH Right Plastic.JPGAMH Right Plastic.JPG

Quoted from robertmee:

Something else happened to me last night. The ball fell through the trough area into the cabinet. Don't recall anyone experiencing this yet. It looks like there's enough gap between the top of the trough rail and the underside of the apron for a ball of sufficient velocity to hit the rail, popup and fall into the cabinet.

In 400 games, I have also had the ball drop into the cabinet from the trough three times, typically during a multiball. One time I also found the ball in the skirt--which took me quite a while to figure out, but I could hear the ball rolling in the skirt when I lifted the playfield. I assume that something could easily be fashioned around the trough area and skirt to prevent this (maybe just wedge in a piece of foam rubber), and I note that some games put an extra post in that area, which I assume is either to stop this from happening or to provide a spare post if needed.

#416 8 years ago

After 400 games, I finally started and finished the wizard mode, and on my birthday no less.A good feeling. Settings are 3-ball, but I earned two extra balls and I have generous ball saves on the launch (8 seconds) and scoop (3 seconds) so that I and my guests don't get too frustrated. I put AMH in the top 10 of the most challenging games I have ever played, and in the top 10 of the most enjoyable.

AMH_High_Score.jpgAMH_High_Score.jpg

#421 8 years ago

Just seeing if anyone else has had the below issue. I've seen it now on two AMH's--my own and one that I serviced briefly at the Pittsburgh Replay Festival.

During the Abandoned Hospital ("doctor") mode, after ball 1 is locked behind the door and ball 2 is lost, during the second chance ("Here's your ball back, you weiner," or "Try again"), the left flipper flips on its own three times to cue the player, then a fuse blows. I have consulted with Charlie, replaced the left coil, checked the coil wiring, checked the EOS diode for correct orientation, and the problem still occurs. It doesn't happen every time after the three flips--just occasionally. Luckily it's just a fuse replacement, but it's still vexing and perplexing.

Has anyone else had this problem? If so, I'd like to pass it on to Ben in case there's something he can do about it in the next code update. (remove the three flips? lower the coil strength on the three flips if it's at 9?)

#450 8 years ago
Quoted from kbliznick:

I just had mine blow the flipper fuse after kicking the ball out of the door saucer after failing the ghost doctor mode as described in another post.

Thanks for confirming that this fuse blow happened to yours as well--so that's three AMH machines where this has happened. My flipper coil strength settings are at 6. My curiosity--since the "three flips" occur automatically when the ball is kicked out from the saucer--is whether the code has those three flips occurring at the 9 coil strength setting (regardless of what the user dials in as a coil strength). If that's the case, then I wonder if lowering the coil strength for the three flips in the code itself would eliminate this problem.

#457 8 years ago

btw75 and Ben--thanks for the replies above.

Ben, I love the Hospital Ghost ball giveback, as do others who have played my machine, so I think that should remain intact. (And losing "here's your ball back, you wiener" would be a loss indeed) . But given the problem of the fuse blow on three machines now right after the three flips, I vote for removing (or being able to disable) the flipper attract. Whatever you decide, thanks for your responsiveness. I didn't want to bug you with this until it was verified on multiple machines.

1 week later
#499 8 years ago
Quoted from Shoopity:

Nevus said:Shreveport LA welcomes Spooky Pinball! It arrived with code V21.
What?!?! I just updated the VP version to 20. When did this happen?

What I believe has happened in the past is that spooky has implemented unreleased versions of the code into their shipped games with Ben's blessing, which Ben has used in part to gain more feedback from games in action before releasing the code to all. Ben has noted on this thread that he's looking for feedback to version 21, which he'll be working on (or finishing?) in September, so I'm guessing that spooky has a beta 21 version, and the full release of 21 on benheck.com will happen soon.

1 week later
#542 8 years ago
Quoted from kbliznick:

Where is the sensor for the ball once it's in the elevator? I was playing the bar ghost and had the elevator up and the ball rolled through the ORB lanes and under the elevator on it's way out the right orbit and the game detected a ball lock. After that through the rest of the game and into the next game the elevator was contstantly going up and down with no ball in it and no elevator switch hits. I had to turn off the game to get it to stop cycling the elevator. Was back to normal on reboot.

There is no sensor in the hellevator. From memory, there is a switch in the shared metal trough (for both "basement" and "hellevator down") an inch or two past the hellevator down with the ball on its way to the right scoop. That switch is how I believe the ball lock is registered. What happened in the case you described I can't explain (could the switch have been stuck closed?), but I do believe that if the hellevator keeps going up and down it may be getting stuck on something or rattling in its path (and the servo could burn out, as happened on mine), so I'd keep an eye on it.

Not sure if my answer is helpful or not, but having replaced my hellevator I can say that it has no sensor in it.

#544 8 years ago
Quoted from JOESCHALL:

From memory, there is a switch in the shared metal trough (for both "basement" and "hellevator down") an inch or two past the hellevator down with the ball on its way to the right scoop. That switch is how I believe the ball lock is registered

Just checked my machine, and there are actually two switches in that shared trough--the first one obviously for the basement and the second for the hellevator.

#546 8 years ago
Quoted from benheck:

Those switches are so the game knows where a ball in the subway is coming from.

Thanks for the clarification, Ben!

#555 8 years ago

Thanks for sharing the above fixes. Mine hasn't needed such adjustment, but numerous AMH owners have made some mechanical adjustments to their machines to improve play. In my case, I confess that I actually removed a thin metal post ("the horror!") and added a thicker matching plastic one with a rubber, then rerouted the left loop ball guide by about an 1/8 inch so that the ball would be delivered to the flipper tip rather than go SDTM. (Don't hate me, fellow AMH owners--the game was level but every time the ball came off that left ball guide it was going SDTM, so I finally gave in and made the change. The game is hard enough!) Also, in addition to an extra rubber at the base of the post next to the lower pop bumper to stop ball sticks there, I also added a rubber to the base of the "lowercase h" 3-d printed part to the left of the basement--this kept the ball from sitting between the "B" lane and the basement. These fixes have eliminated the ball sticks that I was getting frequently otherwise.

#567 8 years ago

Ben, I sometimes get a random "coin door open" message, along with the corresponding creaking door sound, during gameplay, running v20. I've tried removing the keys from the coin door and even turned off the "door warning" sound in the settings, but it still occurs, and it doesn't seem to correspond with any particular switch or action. This is not a serious issue, and the message goes away and gameplay continues on--it's just a small distraction that I thought I would bring to your attention in case it's fixable.

#576 8 years ago

Good luck with code updates, Ben. Again, I am SO grateful that you plan to put in the "three flips" disable option to avoid the fuse blow during Doctor Ghost. It happened to me again twice in the last week. What a wonderful thing it is for us AMHers to have our suggestions heard. Happy coding!

#577 8 years ago
Quoted from locustgrovepin:

WooHoo! Made it to, and completed, Demon Battle tonight! My final score was a little over 250M.

Congrats. I've made it there just three times in 500 games, and completed it just once. Very gratifying. Enjoy your game!

2 weeks later
#583 8 years ago
Quoted from toyotaboy:

anyone else have their left sling fire for no reason sometimes when the ball travels down the left return ramp?

Never had this. In addition to the sling switches, I'd check the tightness of your left ramp as well for where it connects to the sling post. You've probably already thought of this, but just in case . . .

1 week later
#592 8 years ago

In case anyone is interested, I will have my AMH set up for free play at the York Show on Friday only. Has the custom shooter rod, target decals, upgraded LEDs, and Laseriffic topper. Looking forward to sharing the game and supporting spooky.

2 weeks later
#616 8 years ago

Plastic linkage broke on my drain kick, so Kayte sent me a new linkage to replace it. Pounded out the old roll pin and found a new 1/8" roll pin at Lowe's to connect the replacement linkage to the plunger. Reassembled and I'm happily haunting again. Thank you, spooky!

#618 8 years ago

After 500 plays my servo for the ghost burned out--verified by the ghost failing to move any longer and a slight burning smell. My local hobby store doesn't sell hobbyking servos, so I replaced the ghost servo with a TACTIC TSX45 that the salesman assured me was equivalent in specs in relation to speed and torque. Seems to be working perfectly so far.

The swap took about 15 minutes and was very simple. Unplug the servo from the servo board below the playfield, remove the ghost and plastics from above the playfield, remove the four 1-inch machine screws holding the servo in place, pull out the old servo from above the playfield, swap in the new servo from above the playfield, plug the new servo into the board, test the servo and note its turning orientation, push the ghost down on to the servo while re-installing the ghost plastics--making sure the ghost direction matches the turning orientation.

Just thought I'd share these instructions in case it's useful to anyone, and invite anyone to comment on the servo if it isn't equivalent for some reason or if anything I did sounds wrong. A few pix below.

old_servo.jpgold_servo.jpg

ghost.jpgghost.jpg

new_servo_box.jpgnew_servo_box.jpg

#620 8 years ago

Thanks for the reply and for verifying. The salesman looked up the hobbyking servo for its torque and speed and said it was a match. It's good to have a local supplier for spares.

#622 8 years ago

Yes, I remembered your post and loosened my plastics slightly around the ghost when re-installing to lower the resistance as well.

#631 8 years ago
Quoted from eggbert52:

So let me get this straight on these servo things of which I have no idea. Does Spooky not offer replacement parts at all? Am I stuck fixing my own game with hardware supplies in the future? I'm honestly concerned about this because when it comes to pinball machines I'm not super technical but glad to see you guys are.
I reread the post and this is scary to me. I hope Ben or Spooky can address. I think others will agree that they just want to come home and play their "new" games and if this stuff is happening after 1,500 plays then buying these games is a no go in the future for me.
I think it's important that Spooky addresses this ASAP.

To clarify further, I had never dealt with a servo before AMH either, but I realized quickly that they really are easy to swap in. I also am positive that spooky would have sent me a new servo for free if I had asked--their customer service and accountability is second to none--but the servo was just $22 and I chose to find a local source because I don't want to nickel-and-dime spooky to death with requests when something that cheap goes down. I'd rather be more independent where I can and let spooky focus on making more machines. Both the 3-d parts and servos have their pluses and minuses from a longevity standpoint, and for this reason I do think that AMH can require more service than many titles, but I also find it to be more serviceable than many titles as well. I'll be interested to see how spooky handles the hardware issues in Rob Zombie, which promises to have a 6-ball multiball . . .

#637 8 years ago
Quoted from eggbert52:

No, I 100% agree. I want these guys to be around for many years to come and can't wait to see their future games. I think I may have stated it incorrectly and probably should have looked on what a servo is before I commented. If it's easy that gives me a lot of comfort and I can see how that mechanism can go bad after time. I would have also spent the $22 because even if Spooky gets them for $5 they would still have to ship it. When and if mine goes I'll jump back on here to see what you advise in terms of brand and long lasting durability

Thanks for the reply and for your support of spooky. I'm both an outspoken fan and a critic of spooky, and Charlie and Ben are, too. I'll bet there are lots of 10-year-old kids out there who know what servos are, but they were new to me!

#640 8 years ago
Quoted from RustyLizard:

To those wondering about servos, they are very common as there are millions of them out there in hobby grade RC cars and trucks. When I have spare time I will test a metal gear servo and see how that works. Towerhobbies.com is a great source for them. You generally get what you pay for so I would suggest something in the mid price range for this application. There are also many guys on ebay who buy new RC trucks and part them out to make a buck. Generally you can buy servos from them at a very reasonable price.
Look at Traxxas 2055. It's a high torque servo and one guy has them listed at 2 for $22 shipped.

Thanks for the servo tips! I should also note that the servos also come with a bit of related hardware--plastic gear wheels, spacers, and screws--which can be handy if you want or need to replace any of those parts in your machine. In the case of my ghost, those parts were all in good shape.

1 week later
14
#660 8 years ago

As a Halloween treat for students, I took my AMH out for two "hauntings" to Juniata College (Huntingdon, PA) and Penn State University (State College, PA)--my two alma maters. A great time for all, and the machine performed perfectly, with just a few minor ball sticks cleared effectively by the search feature in version 22. I had the machine out on free play for 4 hours at each location, and in each case the final hour was taken up by returners who competed in 4-player games. At Juniata, the machine was set up in the common all-campus student dining hall. At Penn State, it was part of Penn State's Halloween Late Night activities for students.

I thought this would be a fun way to spend Halloween and support spooky, and realized that many of the students at these schools would have never even played pinball (I hope Bug and Squirrel know how lucky they are!). Some interesting tidbits that emerged from the experience: just as many females as males played; just as many international students as American students played; some who had never played pinball before were watching others who played after them and started coaching them; the Doctor Ghost and Bar Ghost were by far the most achieved and won; a majority of students had to be told to press the start button to begin, and to pull the shooter rod to launch; the female students thought the audio callouts were hilarious, especially after ball drains, and burst out laughing at the psychic's lines.

The most interesting conversation I had was with a terribly polite and intense Japanese student, who was also the only one who asked if he could watch me play and explain my playing strategy. He played hunkered down over the machine in his stance, his face just a foot from the glass, and learned and improved quickly in his game. He was fascinated with the machine, and said "Before, I only ever play pinball machine online." He was surprised to find out that there were actual physical pinball games out there that had preceded the video game versions.

"So pinball is a real thing?" he asked. "You play when you in college?"

"Yes, the pinball machines came first," I assured him.

Pix follow.

Packed_Up_AMH.jpgPacked_Up_AMH.jpg

JC1.jpgJC1.jpg

JC3.jpgJC3.jpg

JC4.jpgJC4.jpg

PSU1.jpgPSU1.jpg

PSU2.jpgPSU2.jpg

PSU5.jpgPSU5.jpg

PSU7.jpgPSU7.jpg

#663 8 years ago
Quoted from gottafixit:

Day Late but my creation from last night. Happy Halloween!

Cooool.

1 week later
#694 8 years ago
Quoted from Tsskinne:

Installed Cliffy today! Not easy install but well worth it.

How did you get the protector, please? Other AMH owners would like to know how to order one. I don't see it on Cliffy's website.

#696 8 years ago
Quoted from Tsskinne:

Just email Cliffy

Thanks!

1 month later
#775 8 years ago

I ended up re-decaling my backbox due to some cosmetic damage that occurred during shipping and unboxing. Charlie kindly sent me new backbox decals. Thanks, Charlie! It turns out that this was a much easier process than I was used to, because, as Charlie advised me, the entire AMH cabinet is laminated, so the decals really are--literally--peel and stick. No heat gun is required for removal of the old decal, and once it's removed there is just a small amount of gummy residue to remove from the laminated cabinet, which is easy to remove by hand. I thought I'd share this info in case any other AMH owners end up with a re-decaling job. Don't use a heat gun to remove the old decal! Pix follow.

after_(resized).JPGafter_(resized).JPG

before_(resized).JPGbefore_(resized).JPG

#777 8 years ago
Quoted from bigd1979:

Isnt the cab clearcoated tho?

Not sure how to answer that question. The words Charlie used was that the cabinet is "fully laminated" under the decals, and I would describe the material under the decals as laminated, not clearcoated. Hope that helps and is correct.

#781 8 years ago
Quoted from toyotaboy:

Correct, I believe the wood is laminate similar to say shelving material (pressed wood with a hard shell coating that's smooth).

Quoted from bigd1979:

I thought the cab was cleared after the decals were installed .

Yes, to both of these comments--I'd say the cabinet is cleared after the decals are installed, giving the decals a bit of a "glossy" look and feel. In fact, the damage that I had to my backbox was to the clear, not the decal. I had some edges where the clear had peeled off and stuck to the packing material, or where the clear simply seemed to "flake off."

All that said, the new decals that I put on the backbox to replace the original have enough of a glossy look and feel that I see no difference between them and the original decals.

#784 8 years ago
Quoted from benheck:

The art is printed on vinyl and then once dry rolled through a machine which applies a laminate layer.
This adds gloss, a bit of protection, and also makes the entire piece "stiffer" aiding in proper application.
It may also add UV protection though Chuck would know for sure.

Great, Ben. Thanks!

#786 8 years ago

Thanks to the help of 2Kaulitz, my AMH now has Pingraffix decals installed. They look great, and I liked the fact that we could peel them back easily to address any do-over areas. Great looking product.

Pinblades1_(resized).JPGPinblades1_(resized).JPG

Pinblades2_(resized).JPGPinblades2_(resized).JPG

#788 8 years ago

No problem joeraptor. Hmm. Not to go off topic, but it seems that lots of the best people in pinball are named Joe. Joeraptor, Joe Said, Joe Newhart, etc . . .

#790 8 years ago

Thanks. Great speaker light mod!

#793 8 years ago
Quoted from robertmee:

Just played my best game...222k. Had multiball, photo ace and 5 of six bosses. A few bugs I noticed on new code.

Congrats! The wizard mode is not far away. You could post the bugs in the v.22 code thread if they're not already there.

#809 8 years ago

Planning to add the cards as well. Even though the ghost doesn't "match" the game ghost style, I think it's much cooler looking. Nice job!

1 month later
#838 8 years ago
Quoted from tu71586:

Ha, absolutely right... noob mistake, the coin door was open when testing. How do I test the solenoids through the test menu then?

Once you pull out the interlock switch (it's white, just inside the coin door but mounted on the cabinet, and will "click" when pulled) with the coin door open, you press the green button (mounted inside the coin door near the top) and work your way through the menu using the flippers. The red button takes you a step back in the process, then you use the green button to begin the process again if needed.

If you want to talk through it sometime while you're at the machine, PM me and I'll send you my phone number, then you can call me. That might be easier to understand if you're having trouble.

#841 8 years ago
Quoted from WaddleJrJr:

So would disablishing the interlock all together be similar to this? My AMH will be in the Ohio state championships tomorrow, and I want to have the the interlock disabled for removing stuck balls during multiball.

I'm no authority, but I think the common practice in that case is to open the door (which disables the coils), pull the glass, pull the interlock switch (which energizes the coils when activated), let the player energize a flipper of choice with the button, rest the ball on that flipper, put the glass and lockdown bar back on, then play continues.

#843 8 years ago
Quoted from WaddleJrJr:

So would disablishing the interlock all together be similar to this? My AMH will be in the Ohio state championships tomorrow, and I want to have the the interlock disabled for removing stuck balls during multiball.

And to point out why the practice I just described is used--suppose you had 2 balls stuck in the right scoop (happens to me at times, and neither is quite sitting on the switch) and you had, say, taped the interlock switch shut so that it wouldn't be disabled. If you had to remove the glass to free those balls, as soon as you grabbed one the other might fall back into the scoop and be kicked out, with the player unable to play it. With the interlock switch disabled as described above, you could safely put both balls on the energized flipper of choice.

#844 8 years ago
Quoted from WaddleJrJr:

I see other Stern games and such with the interlocked disabled for the whole tournament. That way someone can have balls on a flipper and won't have to lose them when you pull the glass to get a stuck ball.

I can understand this--I just think that AMH might have some ball stick peculiarities that other machines do not, and a mistake by the person freeing the stuck ball with the glass off could lead to an unfair outcome. Anyway, just my 2 cents. I hope it's a great tournament game tomorrow!

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