Beating the Slots!

[HarveyH42]

On top of everything else I've got in the works, my youngest brother just gave me some new toys to play with, three Slot Machines. Yes, the full size, real deal. I don't have the key, so first challenge is to break in. One looks like its been pried on a little on the side (brother I guess). Will probably go with that one first.

Anyway, two out of three have no power cord. The corded one was dead when I plugged it in. Really need to get inside and see if there are at least some cool parts to salvage. I'd like to get past the locks, with minimal damage. They all look to be of similar design, so chance of getting one to function might not be so bad.

Attached are some photos, and will add more to this thread as I progress. Aren't you a little curious about what's in the box?

 

[HarveyH42]

I got one open (the tampered with one). No money, just a single token. Least I have something to play with.

Attached a power cord and pluged it in, awesome fireball and blown fuse. Before the big flash from the fuse (maybe whatever was shorting), heard music and saw colored lights, wheels spun briefly. This all happened in a second or less, what a thrill...

Inside, there is writing in english, and some stuff labeled in chinese/japanese. The blown fuse is marked 250V 10 amps, need to hunt through some junk for a replacement. Have some 10 amp automotive fuses handy, but not sure they will work. Need to find the fault first anyway, work on it tomorrow.

There is a key switch inside labeled ON/Reset, hope that isn't part of the fault. Seems like everything starting up at power up would be a huge power draw, but then again would it blow a fuse everytime there is a power failure...

Hope they all have similar latch mechanisms, it was really easy to slip with a screwdriver. Haven't tried the other two, but should open with minimal effort.

 

[eric55441]

I have a slot machine similar to your three. The slot machines you have are called "pachislo" slot machines. I have heard they are popular in Japan and there is some sort of law over there saying that the machines cannot be in service for longer than a certain period of time. I suppose when they have get rid of there old machines they sell them off for really cheap. I found mine at a unclaimed freight warehouse and got it for like 100 bucks. In my opinion there isn't much to look at in side because it is all digital, a mechanical slot machine would be more interesting.

 

[bioborg]

Solution

Just solder in a piece of bus wire in place of the fuse if you really want to know where the short is....

 

[HarveyH42]

Nice troubleshooting tip... Think I'll try the usual non-flamiable/destructive methods first...

The purely mechanical ones would be cool as an antique, but I like the electronics (flashing lights, sound effects...). Anyhow, if its not fixiable I have some parts that I can use. Thanks for the name, will see if I can search up some documentation (hopefully in English).

 

[HarveyH42]

JACKPOT! I got a second machine open. Going through the side didn't work, was about to give up for the day, when decided to look at the bottom. There were some vent holes, one large enough for my hand to fit though. Just reach up, felt around and pulled on the latch.

Inside I found the power cord had been shoved through a hole in the back, two tokens, and most importantly the key was in the reset switch. Plugged in, flip the power switch... and it worked. Had to replace a few screws, but pretty much intact, one button cap missing.

There is a large motherboard on the top inside, lots of ICs. I'd think a PIC could run the whole thing (joke). Wonder if luck has much to do with these games. Will take some close-up photos and post them tomorrow.

The third machine is going to be more of a challenge to open up. Tried through the side, couldn't find anything that moves. Holes on the bottom, but a little smaller. Couldn't feel around the latched edge much, coin hopper was in the way. Might hooks some LEDs up to a small video camera and take a peek that way.

 

[HiTech]

Many cases of slot techs adjusting the machines to lower the odds and then off to jail when they got caught. The cruise ship companies often adjust their slots to pay out more often than land based casinos since they aren't making any money when in port and travellers are off the ship. Smart travellers stay aboard the ship to gamble since their odds of a decent payoff are much greater. Anyway I divert from the topic... sounds to me like your knowledge of these machines is very limited so don't go poking around too much or you'll get a fireball and a zap as well, if not completely destroy them.

 

[HarveyH42]

Well, actually had almost zero knowledge of slot machines until monday. Yesterday was the first time I played one. I learn quickly, a even though sometime it doesn't seem like it, I can use the search engines to find useful information. Found a sight last night with downloadable user manuals. They all seem similar, but not specific to any of my machines. Three more to download, but looks doubtful.

Just got the last one opened up. It was so tough because obviously some one was working on it. A lot of wires disconnected, parts unscrewed. Looks like most of the coin mechanism is missing. This one is probably going to be for parts.

The one that is functional takes 30mm tokens, the big boys. Considerably larger than a quarter. The mechanism doesn't look to be made for simple modifications. Been working overtime this week, so not much time or energy to get in too deep. At least all three are now opened up. Pretty sure the first one (blew the fuse) needed to be started in reset, no key so will have to bypass. May get to working machines out of this.

 

[HiTech]

If the coin mechanisms are anything like those of arcade machines, there should be a microswitch (sometimes it's a photo-interruptor) that senses a falling coin. Find that, wire in a momentary pushbutton switch across it and you can play without the need for tokens!

 

[ThermalRunaway]

Sounds like you have a short somewhere on that first machine. If there is a short, it shouldn't be too hard to buzz-it out and infact I'd expect to see some physical evidence of the short in the form of destroyed components.

If not, you could always try the "tune for maximum smoke" approach!

Brian

 

[HarveyH42]

The coin mechanisms are all opto-interupters, this one has 6 wires going into it, figure its a pair of them. Putting it on a button will be if the quarters can't be made to work. From what I've been reading, the machine will freeze up and need to be reset if it can't payout. Now, there should be a credit mode, but need to figure out the programming to set this up. Besides isn't it part of the thrill to have tons of coins spilling out? I'm sure after getting these things fixed up and setup, I'll' get bored with them soon after. Taking quarters would definately add considerably to the sale value.

On that first machine with the blown fuse... Lots of area to inspect, but really no burn smell or obvious darkened areas at first glance. I think it would need to be a short to blow the fuse so spectacularly. Not to thrill with plugging it in again until I know more (hate high voltages), need to minimize the risks. Just a little nervous about getting bit...

 

[HarveyH42]

Just got the good slot machine to accept quarters. I wasn't too bad, there was a second set of holes under the opto assembly to mount them lower for the tokens slightly larger than a quarter. Had a problem with it rejecting quarters at first, but eventually figured out a way to get them past that part. I cut a piece of plastic (about as thick as card stock) to fit across the flip-up cover. Not sure if it'll take anything about the right size now (most likely), but no big deal.

There might be a problem with the coin hopper though. I only had a couple hundred quarters handy (state quarter collection...), but seems to empty out kind of quick. Will go to the bank monday and get about $200 worth, should fill it pretty good. Unfortunately, each machine has a different hopper and different connectors.

 

[The Mad Professor]

"tune for maximum smoke" lol

You know something, I've not heard that for a long time
and it has brought back memories of my student days.

 

[HarveyH42]

Just got the 'Blue Lagoon' machine paying out quarters accurately!!! Had to fabricate a small triangle piece of plastic to so that the quarters can just barely squeeze past the mechanism in the hopper.

This thing is almost 100% restored and converted to quarters. The button to select playing a single credit is broken and the cap missing. Haven't figured out the simple way to pop it out yet. The other way is taking apart the door. Wasn't a big issue, but now its the only thing left to fix. Pretty cool, since the only sites with this machine, sell them for $299 plus $60-80 shipping. Not bad for a freebie.