Episode 178 - Rebuilding Stepper Units

For Amusement Only EM and Bingo Pinball Podcast·podcast_episode·13m 5s·analyzed·Sep 5, 2015

Analysis

claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.016

TL;DR

Nick Baldridge teaches stepper unit rebuild procedures for EM machines to ensure crisp, reliable operation.

Summary

Nick Baldridge provides a detailed technical guide on disassembling, cleaning, and rebuilding stepper units in EM and bingo pinball machines, using Grand Prix and Ballybingo as examples. He emphasizes the critical importance of proper reassembly, testing each stepper position individually, and warns against over-adjusting switches. The episode promotes the York Show (White Rose Game Room Show) scheduled for October 9-10 at York Fairgrounds in Pennsylvania.

Key Claims

Stepper units require cleaning and rebuilding for crisp operation and smooth game function.
high confidence · Nick Baldridge, opening discussion of stepper importance
Grand Prix has quite a few stepper motors and Ballybingo likewise requires stepper maintenance for reliability.
high confidence · Nick Baldridge, describing his experience with these specific games
The rivets on stepper discs should be cleaned with a green scotch bright pad until shiny, then lubricated with three-in-one oil at the circle where the spider travels.
high confidence · Nick Baldridge, cleaning methodology section
Each stepper position must be tested individually by pushing the step-up solenoid and reset solenoid through all positions to avoid hard-to-troubleshoot ephemeral problems.
high confidence · Nick Baldridge, testing section
Nick Baldridge cleaned and adjusted every switch in his Double Up machine as his first major restoration project, and attributes ongoing odd problems to over-adjustment.
high confidence · Nick Baldridge, personal anecdote near episode end
The York Show will feature the first-ever bingo row positioned beside the Woodrail Row in 2024.
high confidence · Nick Baldridge, York Show announcement

Notable Quotes

“So let's go over the process here. First of all, let me describe what a stepper looks like.”
Nick Baldridge @ ~2:30 — Introduction to the main technical content of the episode
“This will serve as a visual guide to ensure you're not 180 degrees off when reassembling.”
Nick Baldridge @ ~4:45 — Key technical tip for preventing assembly errors
“Do it all the way for every single position of that unit if you don't you may find out that you have something uh... assembled in such a way that it's going to cause a problem and it is very hard to troubleshoot ephemeral stepper problems”
Nick Baldridge @ ~12:00 — Critical advice emphasizing thorough testing of all stepper positions
“Once you do so, your game will be a billion percent more reliable.”
Nick Baldridge @ ~13:30 — Strong endorsement of the stepper rebuild process's impact on reliability
“I'm not the type of person that advocates cleaning and adjusting every single switch The game. Mostly because it's really unlikely to help anything.”
Nick Baldridge @ ~14:30 — Caution against over-maintenance, contrasts with stepper-specific focus

Entities

Nick BaldridgepersonAdampersonSteve SmithpersonFor Amusement OnlyorganizationOne and Done Pinball PodcastorganizationGrand PrixgameBallybingogameDouble UpgameYork ShoweventYork Fairgroundsvenue

Signals

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restoration_signal: Comprehensive technical guide on disassembling, cleaning, and reassembling stepper motor units in EM machines, emphasizing proper lubrication (three-in-one oil on rivets only) and thorough testing of all positions.
high · Detailed step-by-step instructions from disassembly through testing, with emphasis on avoiding reassembly errors and comprehensive position testing.
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operational_signal: Stepper unit rebuilding directly improves game reliability and operation; proper maintenance prioritizes stepper overhaul over blanket switch cleaning.
high · Nick states rebuilt steppers result in machines being 'a billion percent more reliable' and advises against cleaning/adjusting every switch indiscriminately.
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event_signal: York Show (White Rose Game Room Show) scheduled for October 9-10 at York Fairgrounds in York, Pennsylvania; inaugural year featuring dedicated bingo row adjacent to Woodrail Row.
high · Direct announcement by Nick Baldridge with specific dates, location, and new bingo row feature.
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community_signal: Community members like Steve Smith actively mentor newer collectors with technical knowledge; podcast hosts like Adam from One and Done collaborate on restoration projects.
medium · Nick credits Steve Smith for answering 85 million questions about 20-hole game operation; mentions following Adam's Grand Prix restoration thread.
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design_philosophy: EM machine design relies heavily on stepper motors for bonus tracking, replay counting, and feature access; proper stepper function is foundational to game reliability.

Topics

Stepper motor disassembly and cleaningprimaryEM machine maintenance and reliabilityprimaryBingo pinball machine restorationprimaryMechanical switch and solenoid operationprimaryYork Show announcementsecondaryMachine troubleshooting methodologysecondaryCommunity expertise and knowledge sharingsecondary

Sentiment

positive(0.85)— Nick Baldridge is constructive and educational throughout, expressing enthusiasm for stepper maintenance and the York Show. Only mild negative sentiment in self-critical reflection about over-adjusting switches on Double Up early in his restoration experience.

Transcript

groq_whisper · $0.039

The End What's that sound? It's 4 Amusement Only, the EM and Bingo Pinball Podcast. Welcome back to 4 Amusement Only, this is Nicholas Baldridge. Tonight I wanted to go over the importance of cleaning and rebuilding stepper units in an EM machine. Now I've talked about this in the past and I may have even dedicated a show to it, but I feel like it bears repeating in this instance as we enter the month of the Ballybingo in the run-up to the York Show. The York Show, by the way, is October 9th and 10th at the York Fairgrounds in York, Pennsylvania. It's also called the White Rose Game Room Show and uh... remember that this year it's going to be the first ever bingo row right beside the Woodrail Row at York you get to play a bunch of fun games uh... get to meet some of the bingo luminaries that you've heard on this very podcast and uh... most importantly you get to play A large variety of games. If you're on the East Coast and able to attend, I'd love to see you there. So, step reunits. This comes to mind because I have been following Adam, another podcast host from the One and Done Pinball Podcasts Restoration thread on a Grand Prix Now, I've worked on a few Grand Prix and there are quite a few stepper units in that game. Just like in a Ballybingo, it's important to clean and rebuild each one of the steppers in the game for crisp operation to ensure That's your game runs smoothly. So let's go over the process here. First of all, let me describe what a stepper looks like. You've got what I call the spider on one side of it. That's attached with a screw or a nut. On the other side, you have a Bakelite disc with rivets and wires soldered into the top and the back, sometimes in a second, kind of piggybacked Bakelite piece. And then on the backside you got maybe a couple switches and most importantly the nylon or metal gear which moves when the solenoids also on the back are activated now on most steppers there is a step up solenoid and then a reset solenoid so let's go over that kind of stepper Step one is to push the reset solenoid and ensure that the stepper is in the reset or default position. This is pretty easy to tell because normally there will be a switch which should be actuated when the stepper is in the reset position. Alternatively, the stepper will be oriented so that one of the main contacts is pointed straight horizontally. Sometimes you can also see after you loosen the screw or nut where things are supposed to be. The first step is to mark the spider arm of your choosing with a sharpie. Step three is to mark the rivet disc directly above the marked arm with the sharpie. This will serve as a visual guide to ensure you're not 180 degrees off when reassembling. Now you want to loosen and remove the screw that holds the spider onto the disc. Then you want to gently remove the spider from the shaft of the gear. Now you'll have access to the rivet disc, but we need to disassemble further to clean. There's a spring on the back. It's what I call a clock spring. It's wound in a particular way to allow for clean movement. To remove, you need to a grasp the part of the spring that winds around the armature above, away from the gear shaft, firmly, and lift to clear the armature. B While still grasping the spring, start unwinding manually, counting the number of revolutions made. 1, 2, 3, and so forth. C Write down the number of revolutions it took to unwind fully. D Mark the hole the other side of the spring was in in the gear. This will help on reassembly, Though you can skip this step if needed. Now you can remove your gear. Or can you? Some steppers have a switch stack that's physically in the way. If this is the case you need to find a twist tie, unscrew the two screws that hold the switch stack in place. Note that some switch stacks on steppers are comprised of two separate stacks above and below a mounting plate. Pay careful attention as all that's going to try to fall apart as you unscrew it. Take a photo to help. Reassemble the switch stacks as they would appear on the mounting plate and push the screws back through the stacks Now take your twist tie and wrap it around the loose stack This will temporarily hold it in place while you clean Next, remove the gear. Next step, to clean the rivets, I use a green scotch bright pad and scrub until the rivets are shiny. Then I take a drop of three-in-one oil or two, this is the household three-in-one oil in the red and white can and put it on my finger then running around the circle that the spider travels covering all the rivets this is one of the only places in the game that requires lubrication most of the rest your time will be spent removing old unneeded lubrication from other areas to reassemble you need to put the gear back in You can use a pinball microscope to see if the pinball is in place. Put the spider back on and screw it into place. Make sure that the sharpie mark lines up on both the rivet disc and on the spider. The pinball is a pinball and screw it into place. Make sure that the sharpie mark lines up on both the rivet disc and on the spider. Then on the backside you need to put the clock spring back on. Now you put the little hooked end which goes into the gear in the marked hole and then wind it around Using the count that you took on your notepad, one, two, three, and then hook it onto the end of the armature. Now here comes the fun part. This is how you test. To test, you push the step up solenoid. Does it step crisply to the next rivet? If so, great. Push the reset solenoid and see if it snaps back into the zero position. Now push the step up twice. Does it step up crisply? If so, great. Push the reset solenoid. Now step it up three times. And so forth. Do it all the way for every single position of that unit if you don't you may find out that you have something uh... assembled in such a way that it's going to cause a problem and it is very hard to troubleshoot ephemeral stepper problems it's hard enough to troubleshoot stepper problems period So don't make more work for yourself. Take the time and check every stepper position. So now you got a rebuilt stepper Let take the example of the Grand Prix and say it one of the bonus units There two of them in that game You have to rebuild both in order to get great operation out of that machine At Bingo, likewise, you have steppers for the odds, you have steppers that count the number of replays that you've won off of a single game, and you may have other steppers which allow you access to certain features. All of these need to be disassembled, cleaned, and then reassembled. Once you do so, your game will be a billion percent more reliable. Now I'm not the type of person that advocates cleaning and adjusting every single switch The game. Mostly because it's really unlikely to help anything. Especially if it's one of your first games. Now I'll tell you a story about myself here. Double Up was the first game that I bought that required major, major work. And so I took the approach of cleaning and rebuilding every stepper The game had problems. And because I didn't have the experience of reading the Ballybingo manuals, and I didn't have anyone that really played the 20-hole games locally that I could ask questions of, Steve Smith was very gracious with his time and let me ask him 85 million questions every I'm not going to go into too much detail about how the game is supposed to work, but I went through and cleaned and adjusted every switch in that game. To this day, the game still gives me odd problems every once in a while, and I put it all down Cl claw kle manosخ televisionseason time bingos Thank you for listening and I'll talk to you next time.