# Pinball Mod Install: Pin Monk Quiet Fan Upgrade

**Source:** Straight Down the Middle  
**Type:** video  
**Published:** 2020-08-06  
**Duration:** 13m 25s  
**Beat:** Pinball

**URL:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oPtglmvBSZE

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## Analysis

Zach Sharpe from Straight Down the Middle demonstrates a step-by-step installation of Pin Monk's replacement fan upgrade for Spooky Pinball machines, specifically on a Rick and Morty cabinet. The mod addresses the noise issue from factory fans by replacing them with a quieter aftermarket unit. The installation is presented as straightforward (approximately 10 minutes) but requires careful attention to detail, proper documentation of wire connections, and access to detailed instructions provided by Pin Monk (Fireland on Pinside).

### Key Claims

- [HIGH] Spooky Pinball machines have constantly-running fans, unlike Stern machines which turn on/off as needed — _Zach Sharpe, near end of video_
- [HIGH] Pin Monk's fan replacement significantly reduces noise output — _Zach Sharpe's direct observation after powering on the machine: 'I've already noticed that the fan sound is significantly lower. I can't really hear it.'_
- [HIGH] The mod is quick, cheap, and easy to perform for a non-handy person — _Zach Sharpe: 'if I can do this stuff, it's not rocket science' and 'Easy, quick, cheap. Go do it yourself.'_
- [HIGH] Pin Monk's instructions are well-written and clear — _Zach Sharpe: 'the thing i like about this uh this mod is that the instructions are really well done'_
- [HIGH] The mod installation takes approximately 10 minutes — _Zach Sharpe: 'It's going to end up being about a 10 minute install'_

### Notable Quotes

> "I cannot stress that enough because the wires especially on the Spooky Pinball machines they all kind of look the same so take pictures so you know where to reinstall those wires"
> — **Zach Sharpe**, early installation phase
> _Critical advice emphasizing documentation importance_

> "this seems intimidating, this seems scary, but I can tell you that my friends and family know I'm not the handiest fella around, so if I can do this stuff, it's not rocket science"
> — **Zach Sharpe**, mid-installation
> _Accessibility message making the mod approachable to non-technical owners_

> "crucial that the label of this fan points towards the inside of the power supply. Otherwise you're going to be blowing your second blowing air in"
> — **Zach Sharpe (reading Pin Monk instructions)**, fan orientation phase
> _Critical installation step to prevent fan direction error_

> "I've already noticed that the fan sound is significantly lower. I can't really hear it."
> — **Zach Sharpe**, post-installation test
> _Direct evidence of mod effectiveness_

> "Spooky Pinball has constant fans so it's not like a Stern where it just turns on and off when it needs that fan"
> — **Zach Sharpe**, conclusion
> _Key distinction explaining why this mod is particularly valuable for Spooky machines_

### Entities

| Name | Type | Context |
|------|------|---------|
| Zach Sharpe | person | Host of Straight Down the Middle pinball show, demonstrates mod installation, content creator for Flipping Out Pinball and Pinball Network |
| Pin Monk | person | Creator of replacement fan upgrade for Spooky Pinball machines; modder known for cooling solutions and modifications |
| Fireland | person | Pinside user who authored Pin Monk fan upgrade instructions; known for detailed mod documentation |
| Rick and Morty | game | Spooky Pinball machine used for demonstration of fan upgrade installation |
| Spooky Pinball | company | Manufacturer of pinball machines; machines have constantly-running fans requiring cooling upgrade solutions |
| Stern Pinball | company | Competing manufacturer referenced for comparison; their machines have fans that cycle on/off as needed |
| Straight Down the Middle | organization | Pinball show hosted by Zach Sharpe, part of Pinball Network |
| Pinball Network | organization | Network of pinball content creators including Straight Down the Middle and Flipping Out Pinball |
| Flipping Out Pinball | organization | Associated with Zach Sharpe and Pinball Network; pinball content/location |
| Pinside | organization | Online pinball community forum where Pin Monk mod is sold and discussed; where Fireland is active |
| Todd Tucky | person | Owner of TNT Amusements; friend of Zach Sharpe referenced for comedic high-voltage warning tribute |
| Ministry of Pinball | organization | European pinball distributor/retailer selling Pin Monk fan upgrades |
| Pinball Life | organization | Retailer selling Pin Monk fan upgrades |
| Pin Monk Quiet Fan Upgrade | product | Aftermarket replacement fan for Spooky Pinball machines designed to reduce noise output |

### Topics

- **Primary:** Pinball modifications and upgrades, Spooky Pinball cooling and noise issues, DIY installation guides and tutorials, Aftermarket pinball parts and components
- **Secondary:** Content creation for pinball community, Spooky vs Stern machine design differences

### Sentiment

**Positive** (0.88) — Zach Sharpe is enthusiastic about the mod, praising Pin Monk's instructions, demonstrating its effectiveness, and recommending it to viewers. He emphasizes accessibility and ease of installation. The only minor friction is the physical difficulty of some installation steps (tight spaces, small screws), but this is presented as manageable rather than problematic.

### Signals

- **[community_signal]** Content creator (Zach Sharpe) providing detailed installation guides and support for aftermarket mods, demonstrating community investment in improving existing machines (confidence: high) — Full step-by-step tutorial video with detailed documentation, multiple retailer references (Pinside, pinmonk.com, pinballlife.com, ministry of pinball), and encouragement for viewers to undertake the modification
- **[product_strategy]** Post-release upgrade addressing thermal/noise management on Spooky Pinball machines through aftermarket fan replacement (confidence: high) — Detailed installation guide demonstrating factory fan replacement with quieter aftermarket unit showing significant noise reduction in testing
- **[technology_signal]** Pin Monk's quiet fan upgrade represents an aftermarket innovation addressing a known design limitation in Spooky Pinball machines (constant fan noise vs Stern's on-demand cooling) (confidence: high) — Zach Sharpe: 'Spooky Pinball has constant fans so it's not like a Stern where it just turns on and off when it needs that fan' and 'a lot of people are annoyed by the sounds of loud fans as well'

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## Transcript

 Welcome back everybody I'm Zach with Straight Down the Middle of Pinball Show and Flipping Out Pinball and the Pinball Network. We're here to do another mod install. This time it's on Pinball Monk's replacement fan for the Spooky Machines or Stern Machines but this one's for Spooky's Rick and Morty. So we replaced this fan here because it's a noisy little booger and I'm going to do a step-by-step on how to do so. If you guys are interested in quieting that spooky fan, you can purchase your own through pinside.com at the pinmonk store, P-I-N-M-O-N-K or pinmonk.com or pinballlife.com. For anybody that's over in Europe, you can go to ministry of pinball.com and uh i think vireland is the creator of all of this on pin side he said kind of australians are kind of shit out of luck so let's do the install for the fan that's much quieter for the power supply on spooky games all right so first things first i'm going to go through all of these directions with you it doesn't look like a hard task but uh it's going to take a little bit to get this thing opened up once we do open it up it looks to be pretty much plug and play but you're going to get it all opened up first now what i have gone and done i've already pulled the power supply from my spooky pinball machine it's just four four screws there into the cabinet and then you have to take the wires out of the back you just unscrew them and pull them out it's not too hard but make sure take pictures take pictures take pictures i cannot stress that enough because the wires especially on the spooky machines they all kind of look the same so take pictures so you know where to reinstall those wires once you get that done you're also going to want to make sure the machine is off before you take this out our first step is taking the top panel off of this power supply as a reminder doing all of this you should do so at your own risk because it will avoid your warranty. Yeah. So proceed with caution. So we've got screws. It looks like, let's see here. We got a screw there, screw there, screw there. We're going to have to take these brackets off. There's a screw here and there's a little extra hidden screw right here. So we're going to have to peel that back. So let's do that old now. What I'm going to try to get away with is just taking the top ones out of each and see this will kind of just shift down so we'll see if that works it may it may not work keep note that these screws are much smaller than the ones we just took out so you're wanting you want to keep those in a separate oh let me keep those in a separate place they are tiny aha super sneaky that is all put that to the side next thing we going to do you gonna see two screws right here this is what holds that fan into place we're going to take those out next it says remove the five screws holding the circuit board to the case noted at positions one through five and the thing i like about this uh this mod is that the instructions are really well done there's five screws they have points on the instructions to where the five screws lie Simple enough. And to remind you all, this seems intimidating, this seems scary, but I can tell you that my friends and family know I'm not the handiest fella around, so if I can do this stuff, it's not rocket science. I don't have a magnetic tip so you guys are going to see me do that. Now as we'll see here, I don't know if you guys can see it, but this fan, see how it's loose, it is wired back here or back here like so. There's a little plug right there. and you do not want to force it but you just want to squeeze until it comes out just like that it looks very much like a connector that you'll see on some of the aftermarket leds that's out carefully slightly lift and shift the whole circuit board away from the area where the fan is you need to create enough area to rotate the fan out about two to three inches slide the fan to the left slide to the right criss-cross no uh... you rotate the right side out then slide it okay so basically you're going to shifty shift this out a little bit little bit okay okay i see i see now okay so the way it's in here, okay, so you want to keep shifting this out. Okay, that's out. Alright, so the next step, this gets threaded under these yellow power wires like so and it coming up from the left just like so see top left Now it did say that it crucial that the label of this fan points towards the inside of the power supply. Otherwise you're going to be blowing your second blowing air in. Just do it like you said. And then you shift it just like you did to get into place. Just like that. Now very carefully we're going to shift this thing back Okay Then I believe is black back in place there See this ain't bad at all Now we're going to install those five screws back to hold this Back down It's going to end up being about a 10 minute install. But boy oh boy those directions. They're good. They're good. A little tight back there especially if you don't have the magnetic tip. Damn it. Son of a biscuit. like in Violin's directions he was like, just make sure you have a magnetic tip. I want a MacGyver this son of a bitch though. Oh, son of a bitch. Forget it. This looks like a job for Mr. Needlenose. Look at this. Just to get it started. Guide the wire from the left side of the fan housing towards the left side of the casing. Then down the case, touching the inside of the case until you reach the capacitor just below the fan connector. Then hook the wire around the capacitor and back up to the fan connector. Like that. What are we talking about? I don't know. Looks good. Now, we're going to take these two screws. Two, remember? Two screw holes. We're going to put those in there. But you might need to hold the fan a bit to line up those holes. Fireland also says, or Pin Monk says in his instructions, this is also a good time to make sure your damn fan is oriented correctly. Be entertaining if I still get it wrong. Now we reinstall the cover. See? Wasn't bad guys, wasn't bad. Now I did learn a valuable lesson It was easy enough to take this thing off Remember I talked about the L brackets I going to have to take those out because when you put it back in I was able to get it out, but putting back in, it's going to pose a problem without these out. Put the cover back on. you make sure like on this suits not want to go on because needs on the outside go and I love maybe I didn't have to put them back on no I didn't Now we're going to take these little itty bitty screws and put them right back where they're supposed to go. Where should be eight of them? Okay I'm going to mount these legs on. I'm going to put it back in the game, wire it back up, and we'll see how it sounds. Okay, everything seems to be reinstalled. We're going to turn the game on, see if it's functioning properly. Now, as you turn the game on, you should be able to tell that the fan, you should hear the fan sound. That shows that that fan is working properly. You can always put your hands down here. You just got to be careful. Ah! That was a tribute to my good friend Todd Tucky from TNT Amusements. Don't put your hand back here because this is all high voltage, especially with it on. It never gets old when he does that, does it? So I've already noticed that the fan sound is significantly lower. I can't really hear it. And this is with the playfield up and the glass out. Once we put the playfield back, put the glass in, that is a winner all day, ladies and gentlemen. gentlemen again visit pin monk on pin side or pin monk.com and get yourself one of these fans is this a game changer well if you're like me and you need to uh record videos in the same room you have pinball machines on yes it is a game changer a lot of people are annoyed by the sounds of loud fans as well uh spooky has constant fans so it's not like a stern where it just turns on and off when it needs that fan. This is constantly on. So this is easy. Easy, quick, cheap. Go do it yourself. And please check out other Straight Down the Middle and Flip N Out Pinball videos as well as checking out the Pinball Network. Thanks again, everybody. Bye.

_(Acquisition: youtube_groq_whisper, Enrichment: v3)_

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*Exported from Journalist Tool on 2026-04-13 | Item ID: 3e928966-92ad-4517-b576-42d1bf9bebc2*