# Servo Change in AMH / Spooky Pinball games **Source:** Spooky Pinball **Type:** video **Published:** 2015-12-17 **Duration:** 5m 24s **Beat:** Pinball **URL:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qdmx_d-70GU --- ## Analysis Charlie Emery from Spooky Pinball provides a comprehensive technical tutorial on replacing servo motors in Spooky/AMH pinball machines. The video covers menu navigation, servo identification, physical replacement, installation verification, and fine-tuning procedures using the Servo Default adjustment feature to prevent mechanical binding. ### Key Claims - [HIGH] Servos are used in Spooky/AMH machines and differ from traditional DC motors in that the CPU directs them to specific positions without requiring end-of-travel switches — _Charlie Emery explaining servo fundamentals_ - [HIGH] All servos in Spooky games use the same replacement principle and are accessed through the in-game menu system — _Charlie Emery describing universal servo replacement procedure_ - [HIGH] Servo position information and control mappings are available on Spooky Pinball's website and documented in the America's Most Haunted switch matrix — _Charlie Emery directing viewers to official documentation_ - [HIGH] Servo binding (shaking/vibration when pushing against mechanical stops) will damage new servos and should be prevented through Servo Default calibration — _Charlie Emery explaining servo maintenance and failure prevention_ ### Notable Quotes > "Servos are different from a DC motor in a traditional pinball machine as the computer or the CPU unit tells this thing where to go and it doesn't necessarily need a switch at the beginning or the end to tell you where to stop." > — **Charlie Emery**, 0:30 > _Explains fundamental technical difference between servo-based and traditional pinball machine architecture_ > "If this is pushing against that plastic, it's going to shake like this, and you'll feel it. You put your finger on top of it, you will feel it. Same here, if we send it to close, if it's pushing against the metal, like right in the corner there, you will feel it. This thing will shake and it will vibrate. And that will murder your new servo." > — **Charlie Emery**, 4:45 > _Critical maintenance warning about servo binding detection and prevention to avoid premature failure_ > "You might want to go into your menu, check it one more time. Servo. We'll go door open, bing. Double check it again, change your defaults there, you can push it forward a little bit if you need to." > — **Charlie Emery**, 6:50 > _Best practice recommendation for post-installation verification and fine-tuning_ ### Entities | Name | Type | Context | |------|------|---------| | Charlie Emery | person | CEO/founder of Spooky Pinball, providing technical tutorial content for machine owners | | Spooky Pinball | company | Boutique pinball manufacturer producing machines with servo-based mechanical features | | America's Most Haunted | game | Spooky Pinball game referenced for servo control documentation and switch matrix information | | Game of Thrones | game | Referenced as example of servo failure (smokey smell characteristic of failure) | ### Topics - **Primary:** Technical support and operator education, Servo motor technology and maintenance, Spooky Pinball machine architecture - **Secondary:** In-game menu system navigation, Preventive maintenance procedures ### Sentiment **Positive** (0.85) — Charlie Emery is patient, thorough, and helpful. Video demonstrates company commitment to operator education and support. Tone is instructional and encouraging, framing maintenance as straightforward and manageable. ### Signals - **[community_signal]** Spooky Pinball producing detailed technical educational content for machine owners and operators, demonstrating ongoing commitment to customer support and knowledge sharing (confidence: high) — Charlie Emery directly addressing camera to provide comprehensive servo replacement tutorial with hands-on demonstration - **[technology_signal]** Servo-based mechanical control systems represent a departure from traditional DC motor architecture in pinball, enabling CPU-directed positioning without end-of-travel switches (confidence: high) — Charlie Emery's explicit explanation of servo vs. DC motor differences and CPU-directed positioning capability --- ## Transcript Hello, this is Charlie from Spooky Pinball and right now I'm shooting a video explaining how to change a door servo. This will work for basically all the servos in the game, they're all the same principle. Servos are different from a DC motor in a traditional pinball machine as in the computer or the CPU unit tells this thing where to go and it doesn't necessarily need a switch at the beginning or the end to tell you where to stop. Inside the coin door, there's your servo right there. We're going to back out. Inside the coin door, there are two buttons, green and red. Green means go. Green means go into the menu. Red means stop, back out of the menu. So what we're going to do is go into the menu, and we're going to go to servo. Hit the green button again, and you will see door open. Now I use the flippers to toggle through all these different little settings here. This is for all the servos in the game. And we're going to go to door close. That's using the flippers left and right, back and forth. Hit the green button and Ed Boon you can really see it but it just sent that little servo to the closed position Now showing you underneath Say your servo died, it's got that funny smokey smell. This is your auxiliary board. This is the servo that is in the game right now. Plugs into position 2 for the door. Servos are laid at 0 through 3. Technically it's 4, 0, 1, 2, 3. All this information is available on our website. This is in the AMH switch matrix at the bottom of the chart. It'll tell you which servo controls which feature or toy, ghost, door, elevator, etc. So anyway, it's four screws. You take this servo out. It's actually positioned this way in the game. Take this servo out, plug it into the auxiliary board. This is located underneath the play field, and that gets you basically to what John Youssi on camera right now. We just sent that puppy to closed. Here is your door, here is your screwdriver. It is a single screw. So we are going to put the door on, sorry for blocking this with my hand, I'll get it out of the way as soon as humanly possible in the closed position it down until she good and snug Don over strip it It good and tight It not dragging on the play field Now we're going to go back out to the menu here. John Youssi it says door closed. I'm going to use the flippers to cycle over to door open. Before I press the green button again, we'll go back, hit the green button, Ed Boon, door is open. Now what you want to check with any servo is that it's not pushing to get somewhere. If this is pushing against that plastic, it's going to shake like this, and you'll feel it. You put your finger on top of it, you will feel it. Same here, if we send it to close, if it's pushing against the metal, like right in the corner there, You will feel it. This thing will shake and it will vibrate. And that will murder your new servo. So you don't want to do that. This one is pretty good. But, say it's not very good. Let's back out. We're going to hit the red button to exit. We're going to go to something called Servo Default. Hit the green button to go in. Door open. Six We go to door close just so I can show you how to adjust this Using the flipper again we hit the green button Go back to the door Zoom in on the door And here what happens See how I moving the flippers and it moving just a tiny bit? See it's pushing up against that steel there? You can just go back, back, back. Good. Hit the green button. Hit the red button. Saves it to the EEPROM. So you can fine tune adjust that servo with that. That also works on basically every servo in the game. The elevator, the target bank up and down, any of those. If they're shaking, you want to get it to stop shaking, just use your servo defaults. You go in, you change it, and it's good to go. And that is it. That is all you need to know. You might want to You might want to go into your menu, check it one more time. Servo. We'll go door open, bing. Double check it again, change your defaults there, you can push it forward a little bit if you need to. Good to go. Door closed. Not shaking, put your finger on it, good to go. Ed Boon, you're done. That's it. Hope that helps. If you have any questions, my email is charlie at spookypinball.com. And thanks for watching and thanks for supporting Spooky Pinball. _(Acquisition: youtube_groq_whisper, Enrichment: v3)_ --- *Exported from Journalist Tool on 2026-04-13 | Item ID: 044c5e33-e52c-472f-a1f6-89c651f1d364*