Inside Slot Tech Magazineslot-tech.com/members/magazine/lores/april01.pdf · Williams slant top...

Inside Slot Tech Magazine

Slot Tech Magazine April, 2001

Page 2 - EditorialInside Slot Tech Magazine

Page 3 - SwaptronicsSlot techs have one supreme advantage over technicians in most other disci-plines of electronics: The easy ability to swap modules between machines in orderto determine where the problem lies.

Page 4 - Understanding Diodes, Transistors and Other SemiconductorsOf all the basic skills and procedures in electronics, none is more important thanthe ability to test parts like diodes and transistors.

Page 8 - The Ambassador, the Slot Tech and You!Trying to be in two places at once is pretty much standard operating proce-dure for a slot tech. So is constant contact with our customers, the gamingpublic. How well do you make the change from being the slot tech to being theambassador of your casino?

2 - Monitor Troubleshooting FlowchartRun (don't walk) to your nearest photocopier, make a copy of this trouble-shooting flowchart and staple it to the wall of the shop. You'll be glad you did.

Page 14 - How Monitors WorkThe first of a multi part series, this month featuring the basics of how videoslot monitors operate.

Page 18 - Educational UpdateScott Reynolds shares his experiences as a slot tech student with Slot TechMagazine

Page 20 - AWP SpotlightFrom the land of fruit machines, Kinger! presents this month's program up-dates and improvements.

Page 22 - Slot Tech Troubleshooting Tips •Game type: IGT I-games | Problem: Excessive coin-out time outs •Game Type: IGT Addams family | Problem: Screen Locking up during play

Page 24 - Slot Tech Contacts and Subscription FormLooking for a replacement for a Japanese transistor? Low on your stock ofelectrolytic capacitors? This month's contact sheet is for electronic componentdistributors.

Slot Tech Editorial

This month's Slot Tech Maga-zine presents a line-up that hassomething for slot techs of ev-ery skill level. There's even alittle something for those whoaren't yet slot techs but are con-sidering joining the ranks.

If you're a floor tech and you'reready to take the next step upin terms of machine repair,you'll have to know about afamily of components calledsemiconductors. As you may al-ready know, these are parts likediodes and transistors. Begin-ning on page four, you'll learnall about how semiconductors

Inside This Month's Slot Tech Magazine

Randy Fromm's

Slot Tech Magazine

EditorRandy Fromm

Technical WritersPete Bachran

Bart HoldenJon Hughes

Kinger!Scott Reynolds

Frank SutterMichael Thomas

Advertising ManagerDennis Sable

Slot Tech Magazine ispublished monthly bySlot Tech Magazine1944 Falmouth Dr.El Cajon, CA 92020-2827tel.619.593.6131fax.619.593.6132e-mail

[email protected] the website at

slot-techs.comSUBSCRIPTIONS

Domestic (USA) 1 year - $60.00 2 years - $120.00International 1 year - $120.00 2 years - $240.00

copyright 2001 under the Uni-versal Copyright Convention. Allrights reserved.

work, how they fail and howto test them with your digitalmultimeter. You'll also learnabout component specifica-tions and how to obtain re-placement parts and makecomponent substitutions.

While we're on the subject ofsubstitution, you'll want toread all about the science of"Swaptronics" in BartHolden's insightful look at aWilliams slant top repair.

Being a slot tech is often achallenging profession. Notonly are slot techs dealing withstate-of-the-art machines butwith the general public as well.Frank Sutter discusses a bitabout the Zen of servicing boththe machines and your clien-tele. Turn to page eight.

This month's centerpiece is forour somewhat more advancedgroup. It's a generic trouble-shooting flowchart for monitorrepair. It's pretty self-explana-tory. Just answer the ques-tions and follow the arrows tothe cause of your problem.

And speaking of monitors, in-termediate level technicianswho want to learn monitor re-pair should turn to page four-teen and read this first ofmany installments on the sub-ject. Monitors are easy to un-derstand and a lot of fun towork on, once you know howthey operate.

If you are not a working slottech now but are consideringgetting into the field, you'llwant to check out ScottReynold's review of the train-ing he received at a slot techschool in Las Vegas. DoesScott feel he's ready to go towork on the slot floor? Turnto page eighteen and see.

This month's contact Sheet is

for component suppliers. Theseare the guys that sell the resis-tors, capacitors, diodes, tran-sistors and integrated circuits.For the weird and unusual (in-cluding Japanese components)and for great prices on stuff likehorizontal output transistorsand MOSFETs, I highly recom-mend New Jersey Semiconduc-tor Products. Semis only, nopassive components.

Isle of Capri's Mike Thomasgives us a couple of tips for IGTmachines in this month's SLotTech Troubleshooting Tips.

Reporting from the other sideof the Atlantic, Slot Tech's Eu-ropean correspondent, Kinger!reminds us of some importantupdates and machine improve-ments as the British fruit ma-chine industry shakes off thewinter blues and gets ready forthe seaside holiday crowd.

If you haven't taken the time tosubscribe, please do it now. Thesubscription form is in the backof the magazine or you may call619.593.6131 and charge it toyour credit card. You may alsosubscribe online at the slot-techs.com website.

Until next month, see you at thecasino.

Randy Fromm


Randy Fromm

Editors note: Slot techs haveone supreme advantage overtechnicians in most other dis-ciplines of electronics: Theeasy ability to swap modulesbetween machines in order todetermine where the prob-lem lies. Slot Tech Magazinecontributing writer BartHolden defines this as "swap-tronics" and although thisarticle describes a specificfailure, the proceedure is di-rectly applicable to just aboutall types of slot machine re-pairs. - rf

Game type:Williams slant top video slotProblem:No Video output to monitor

I recently encountered a dis-play problem on a WilliamsMonopoly slant top. Themonitor was receiving volt-age to the Cathode Ray Tube

(CRT) however the graphicswere missing.

I swapped the monitor with aknown good one and the prob-lem remained at the game.Next, I removed the CentralProcessing Unit (CPU) fromthe game and reseated theSlot CPU Video board as wellas the integrated circuit chiplocated in socket XU1. Al-though this step had fixedthis problem previously, thegame was still plagued withthe missing graphics.

I took my trouble shooting tothe next and highly under-rated skill of swaptronics. Iremoved the CPU from anoperational, neighboringgame and replaced the one inmy faulty game. The problemwas cured.

Now having a functional CPUand a non-functional CPU infront of me, I could narrowmy problem down further. Ibegan by removing and re-placing the Slot CPU Videoboard from the bad CPU withthe one from the good CPU. Iagain returned my CPU to thegame and again, it worked. Inow knew that a componenton my Slot CPU Video boardwas defective.

The next logical step was toremove the chip located inXU1 from the bad Slot CPUVideo board and replace itwith the good one. This chipsimply plugs into the socketand requires no desoldering.I returned the CPU to thegame and again I had graph-ics. The chip was replacedand the slot machine was upfor play.

-Bart Holden

SWAPTRONICSBy Bart Holden

Brrrrrrrrrrrr.... It's cold at the Little River Casino in Manistee, Michi-gan. Recent graduates from Randy Fromm's Casino School include (leftto right) Slot Tech Magazine contributing writer Jon Hughes, DukeEdmondson, Tim Chandler, Joe Tighe, Tina Mcpherson and Sean Padden.Casino School instructor Randy Fromm is on the far right.

Slot Tech Troubleshooting Tips

Slot Tech Feature Article UNDERSTANDINGDIODES AND TRANSISTORS

Do you remember when you first startedworking on slots? Remember when youdidn’t even know what a transistor was,let alone how to test one to see if it wasgood or bad? Now that you’ve been work-ing on power supplies and monitors fora while, you probably can’t recall a timewhen you didn’t know how to test tran-sistors and obtain substitute components.

If you can call to mind the difficulty ofthose early days, you’ll understand why Ioccasionally take a step back and take alook at some of the fundamentals oftroubleshooting. Of these basic skills andprocedures, none is more important thanthe ability to test transistors. If you arealready familiar with transistors, this dis-cussion will probably be a complete bore.Consider yourself fortunate to possesssuch a vital skill and move on in the maga-zine. I’ll catch you next month.

Still here? That’s good because you justgotta learn how to test transistors. It’s re-ally the whole basis for troubleshootingmonitors, power supplies, drivers fordiverter coils and a host of other thingselectronic.

The basic philosophy is simple. Sincemany circuit faults are caused by transis-tor failure, we don’t always have to knowexactly how the circuit works in order torepair it. All we have to do is test the tran-sistors in the circuit and replace the onesthat are bad. Since transistors all test thesame (with a few exceptions) once you’vemastered the test you can fix just aboutanything!

Diodes

We use the “diode test” function of themeter to test both transistors and diodes.Let’s take a quick look at diodes first.

The diode is the simplest semiconductorthat we have. The schematic symbol lookslike an arrow with a bar at one end. Thearrow symbol makes a lot of sense sincea diode is a one way gate for the flow ofelectric current. It’s kind of like the turn-stile at a supermarket or amusement parkwhere people are allowed to move

through the gate in one direction only. Adiode has just two component leads.They’re called the “anode” and the “cath-ode.”

It’s interesting to note how the diode ac-tually works inside. Just about all of thediodes we use in games are made of anelement called silicon. In its pure form,silicon is an insulator. It cannot pass anyelectric current through itself. During themanufacturing process, small quantitiesof impurities called dopants are added tothe silicon. The addition of the dopantscauses a change in the structure of thesilicon atoms.

When phosphorus is added to the silicon

crystal, extra electrons are added to thesilicon. This gives the silicon a net nega-tive charge, with some free electronsscooting around inside the crystal. We callthis type N silicon; N for negative.

When boron is added to the silicon, it de-velops a net positive charge. We call thistype P silicon. We can think of type P sili-con as having atoms with “holes” in theelectron shell, just waiting for an electronto fall into it. In fact, we call these atomsin the type P silicon “holes.”

The diode is made from a single chip ofsilicon. One half of the chip is type P sili-con; the other half is type N silicon. Wherethe two types of silicon come together, we


have something called the PN junction.The PN junction acts as a kind of barrierto prevent the free electrons in the type Nsilicon from reaching the holes in the typeP silicon. When we test diodes and tran-sistors, we will actually use the meter totest this PN junction. Your ability to testthis PN junction will enable you to repairmore electronic equipment than any othersingle test you will perform!

It takes a certain amount of voltage topush aside the PN junction and allow cur-rent to flow through the diode. It takesan average of .7 volt to break down thePN junction and allow current to flow.

Let’s hook up this diode and see how itworks. The anode is connected to thepositive side of the battery. The cathodeis connected to the negative side of thebattery through the lamp. The electronsare repelled by the negative side of thebattery toward the junction and the holes

are repelled by the positive side of thebattery toward the junction. Where theymeet at the junction, the electrons fall intothe holes. This pushes the PN junctionaside and current flows through the di-ode.

If the battery is reversed, the holes andelectrons are attracted to opposite endsleaving pure silicon as an insulator be-tween them. The silicon insulator preventscurrent from flowing through the diode.This is why it is called a semiconductor.Sometimes it conducts; sometimes itdoesn’t.

It takes around .7 volt to break the bar-rier at the PN junction. This .7 volt is usedup inside the diode as the energy requiredto push the current across the PN junc-tion. We call this .7 volt the “JUNCTIONDROP.”

A normally operating silicon diode willhave a JUNCTION DROP of between .45and .9 volt when measured with most digi-tal multimeters. Most engineers and tech-nicians use the average of .7 volt whendiscussing the JUNCTION DROP. Gener-ally speaking, the larger the device, thelower the JUNCTION DROP will be. Wecan test this JUNCTION DROP with ourmeter. There is a special setting on themeter called the diode test. When we usethe diode test, we are actually measuringthe voltage required to get through thePN junction. What we should see is a nor-mal JUNCTION DROP with the red leadon the anode and the black lead on cath-ode (diode conducting) and OPEN whenthe leads are reversed.

This means that the diode is doing its jobas a one way gate for current. When weread a normal JUNCTION DROP it meansthat current is flowing through the diode.When we read OPEN, the diode is block-ing the current.

It’s obvious when a diode is bad. If we geta reading in both directions, the diode isshorted. In fact, most diodes short whenthey fail. I’d say that 99 out of 100 diodefailures are short circuits. If the metershows OPEN in both directions, the di-ode is open.

You can usually tell if a diode is good orbad, even when testing diodes in-circuit.Needless to say, if you test a diode in-cir-cuit and it appears to be bad, you shouldtest it again after removing it from the cir-cuit just to be sure.

Diode Specifications

A diode is rated by voltage and current.The voltage rating of a diode is the maxi-mum amount of voltage that the diode canblock without breaking down. The volt-age rating is listed as PRV (peak reversevoltage) or PIV (peak inverse voltage.)

The current rating is the maximumamount of current that the diode cansafely pass without getting too hot. Believeit or not, we use the letter “I” to repre-sent current. Huh??? Early experimentersthought of current as “intensity,” so theletter designation “I” has remained withus. Io means output current.

When substituting diodes, you can alwaysuse a diode with a higher voltage and/or

current rating. Remember, the voltage rat-ing of a diode has nothing to do with thevoltage the diode is “putting out.” It is sim-ply a rating of the maximum voltage thatthe diode can block. You can replace a50 volt, 1 amp diode with a 400 volt, 1amp diode. You could also use a 50 volt,3 amp diode or even a 400 volt, 3 ampdiode as a replacement.

Transistors

Transistors come in a lot of differentshapes and sizes. The packages we com-monly see in games are TO-3, TO-220,TO-218 and TO-92. There are two gen-eral types of transistors: NPN and PNP.Both are named for the way they aremade. They’re kind of like a sandwichwith type N and type P silicon. The sche-matic symbol for the two types of transis-tors is basically the same. Notice that thearrow points away to designate an NPNtransistor while the arrowhead points to-ward the center of the schematic symbolfor PNP.

Since we’re talking a lot about P’s and N’shere, chances are pretty good we’re talk-ing about a PN junction somewhere. Infact, each transistor has two junctions.The NPN transistor is made of a single chipof silicon that has one area made of typeN material, a thinner region made of typeP silicon and another N region on theother side. The PNP transistor has N sili-con in the middle, surrounded by P sili-con.

A transistor has three leads and each leadhas a name. They are the emitter, base,and collector. There are two PN junctionsin the transistor that we have to test. Oneis between the base and the emitter. Theother is between the base and collector.It is the same test we used for the diodebut we’ll check two junctions instead ofjust one.

TESTING TRANSISTORSRegardless of what type of package they’rein, transistors will pretty much all test thesame way. You’ll need a digital multim-eter with a “diode” test.1. Set your meter to the diode test.2. Connect the red meter lead to the baseof the transistor. Connect the black meterlead to the emitter. A good NPN transistorwill read a JUNCTION DROP voltage of be-tween .45v and .9v. A good PNP transistorwill read OPEN.

3. Leave the red meter lead onthe base and move the blacklead to the collector. Thereading should be the sameas in step 2.4. Reverse the meter leads inyour hands and repeat thetest. This time, connect theblack meter lead to the baseof the transistor. Connect thered meter lead to the emitter.A good PNP transistor willread a JUNCTION DROP volt-age of between .45v and .9v.A good NPN transistor willread OPEN.5. Leave the black meter leadon the base and move the red lead to thecollector. The reading should be the sameas in step 4.6. Place one meter lead on the collector,the other on the emitter. The meter shouldread OPEN. Reverse your meter leads. Themeter should read OPEN. This is the samefor both NPN and PNP transistors.

If the transistor fails any of these tests, itis bad. If you read a short circuit any-where, the transistor is bad. As with thediode, you may attempt to test transistorsin-circuit. However, transistors will often

Slot Tech Magazine

not test properly in-circuit and must beunsoldered and removed from the circuitfor proper testing. Don’t agonize overwhether or not the transistor is bad whentesting in-circuit. It only takes 30 secondsto remove the transistor and another 30to test it properly. Just do it!

Transistor Specifications and Replace-ments

Transistors are rated much the same asdiodes; maximum current and maximumvoltage.

IC- Collector Current - This is the maxi-

mum current (measured in amperes) that

can be controlled by the transistor. Natu-rally, large transistors can handle morecurrent that small transistors, just as thickwire can handle more current than thin

wire. The largest size tran-sistor we commonly use ingames is the TO-3 pack-age, which can handle upto 40 amps of current.

VCEO

or BVCEO

- Collector-to-Emitter Voltage - This is themaximum voltage that thetransistor can handle asmeasured between thecollector and the emitterwhen the base lead is open(not connected.) This iswhen the transistor iscompletely turned off andmust block the currentfrom flowing between thecollector and emitter ofthe transistor. Althoughthere are other voltage rat-ings for transistors, this isgenerally the only onethat’s important to us.

hFE

- Current Gain or“Beta” - This is an indica-tion of the transistor’s abil-ity to amplify an incomingsignal. The higher thegain, the less current ittakes to drive the transis-tor. For example, a tran-sistor with a gain factor of100 will require just 1/100amp of base current for 1amp of collector current.

We can lump most transis-tors into three general cat-

egories. Low gain transistors have a gainof up to 250. Medium gain transistorshave a gain of 250-750. High gain tran-sistors are those with a gain factor of morethan 750. Admittedly, these figures aresomewhat arbitrary.

Substituting transistors is just like substi-tuting diodes. You can make the substitu-tion as long as the replacement transis-tor is the same polarity (NPN or PNP) andhas the same or higher voltage rating andcurrent rating.

However, you should try to match the gainrating of the transistor as best you can.Substitute only low gain transistors for lowgain transistors, mediums for mediumsand highs for highs. This is not actuallytoo difficult. As long as you’re in theballpark you should be okay.

Naturally, if you can obtain an exact re-placement you should do so. Most citieshave at least one electronic componentretailer who carries a series of universalreplacement components that can beused as substitutes. These companiespublish an extensive cross-reference cata-log that will allow you to make substitu-tions as quickly as locating a word in thedictionary. You simply look up the origi-nal part number of the component youwant to replace and the index will tell youwhich substitute to use.

A cross-reference is also available onlinefrom NTE. http://www.nteinc.com/. Youcan download their cross-reference da-tabase as well, making it possible for youto cross-reference components withouthaving to be on-line.

This is the smallest transistorThis is the smallest transistorThis is the smallest transistorThis is the smallest transistorThis is the smallest transistorthat you commonly will find inthat you commonly will find inthat you commonly will find inthat you commonly will find inthat you commonly will find inmonitors, power supplies andmonitors, power supplies andmonitors, power supplies andmonitors, power supplies andmonitors, power supplies andother c ircu its (other thanother c ircu its (other thanother c ircu its (other thanother c ircu its (other thanother c ircu its (other thanSMDs or surface-mount devices). ItSMDs or surface-mount devices). ItSMDs or surface-mount devices). ItSMDs or surface-mount devices). ItSMDs or surface-mount devices). Itis often called a "signal transistor" asis often called a "signal transistor" asis often called a "signal transistor" asis often called a "signal transistor" asis often called a "signal transistor" asit can handle only 1 amp of current.it can handle only 1 amp of current.it can handle only 1 amp of current.it can handle only 1 amp of current.it can handle only 1 amp of current.

This package can handle upThis package can handle upThis package can handle upThis package can handle upThis package can handle upto 10 amps. We use tran-to 10 amps. We use tran-to 10 amps. We use tran-to 10 amps. We use tran-to 10 amps. We use tran-sistors in this package assistors in this package assistors in this package assistors in this package assistors in this package aslamp matrix and solenoidlamp matrix and solenoidlamp matrix and solenoidlamp matrix and solenoidlamp matrix and solenoiddrivers in slot machines. Youdrivers in slot machines. Youdrivers in slot machines. Youdrivers in slot machines. Youdrivers in slot machines. Youalso see this package inalso see this package inalso see this package inalso see this package inalso see this package inpower supplies.power supplies.power supplies.power supplies.power supplies.

The TO-218 package is aThe TO-218 package is aThe TO-218 package is aThe TO-218 package is aThe TO-218 package is alarger version of the TO-larger version of the TO-larger version of the TO-larger version of the TO-larger version of the TO-220 package. It's used in220 package. It's used in220 package. It's used in220 package. It's used in220 package. It's used inmany of the same appli-many of the same appli-many of the same appli-many of the same appli-many of the same appli-cations as well. Mostcations as well. Mostcations as well. Mostcations as well. Mostcations as well. Mostmonitors use a TO-monitors use a TO-monitors use a TO-monitors use a TO-monitors use a TO-218 package for218 package for218 package for218 package for218 package forthe horizontal out-the horizontal out-the horizontal out-the horizontal out-the horizontal out-put transistor.put transistor.put transistor.put transistor.put transistor.

I’ll bet we’ve all hadthis experience: We have gonethrough our pile of job slipsand we’ve discovered a realproblem game. Typically, I putoff tackling these games untilI get to a slow part of the shift.Usually, I have been into thegame earlier in the shift, andrealized that this one wasgoing to take more time thenI could afford at the moment.While things are busy, I trynot to tie myself up in alengthy repair job. I normallyclose the game back up, leaveit marked as down and leavemyself free to attend to themore immediate concerns.These would include repair-ing the games left down fromthe last shift, any new gamesthat might go down, answer-ing the radio calls for cus-tomer assistance, and walk-ing my section to change allthe blinking and dark lightbulbs. After all that is caughtup, it’s finally time to go backto those problem games.

The next move is go tothe shop, grab the replace-ment parts I’m going to needto do the job, and review inmy mind the special consid-erations that this particularjob may require. Once I havemade sure that the tools Ineed are on hand, it’s time toget back into the game. Thereason I have put this repairoff instead of repairing it im-mediately is because it be-came evident as soon as I sawthe problem that some exten-

sive disassembly was goingto be required in order tocomplete the repair. Now, withthe tools and materials I needto do the job, and the prereq-uisite bitchin' and moanin’,(under my breath, of course)I begin with the disassembly.

Of course, before I re-place any defective parts withsomething from the shop, it’simportant to confirm that thereplacement is actually goingto fix the game. The mostconvenient way to do this onthe floor is to use known-good parts from a nearby,working game. This meansdisassembling two games, buthey, that’s what needs to bedone. So, after a little morebitchin” and moanin’, (undermy breath, of course), I pro-ceed to open and disassemblea second game. Before verylong, I find myself with twogames open, and parts scat-tered all over the floor andbetween the games.

Finally, just when Ihave decided exactly what isgoing to be needed to effectthe repair of the problemgame, just as surely as thesun is going to come up to-morrow morning, the radiowill pick that moment tocrackle to life. This is so nor-mal, you will even come toexpect it. I am normally al-ready prepared to tell who-ever is calling that I am tiedup with a difficult repair, andthat I will be there as soon as

I am free.

This time, however, inmy not so hypothetical situa-tion, it’s even worse then Iexpect. As I grab my pen andpad to jot down the locationof the call, the news comesover the radio that I’m notgoing to be able to put thisone off. This time the call isfrom a slot host requestingmy assistance with a cus-tomer dispute! While desper-ately scanning the scene be-fore my eyes, I sadly tell thehost that it’s going to be a fewminutes, but I will be there assoon as possible.

Now what? I am goingto have to leave two gamesdown, and hustle over to thecomplaint before the time Iam about to add makes thecustomer even madder thenthey are! I grab a couple ofcups to put the small partsinto, and I rest these cups inthe games. Next, I’ll quicklyput the large game parts backin place, but I don’t take thetime to reconnect everything,because these games are go-ing to be down until I can putthem back together. I com-plete the required log entries,lock both games and pull thedoors to make sure the locksare secure, and take a finalglance to make sure the twogames are marked as down.Finally, I shove all my toolsback in my tool pouch, and Iget on the radio again, tellingthe host that I am in route.

Slot Tech Feature Article The Ambassador, theSlot Tech and You!

By Frank Sutter


Now, my mind setshifts. I am about to arrive ata game that may or may nothave a problem, but wherethe customer definitely hasone. I know that I am going tohave to keep a clear head todeal with the impending dis-pute, but all I can think aboutis the time that just got wastedbecause of this stupid radiocall. I glance at my watch,hoping that I will be able toget the two games put backtogether and in playable con-dition before the end of myshift.

If you have spent twoyears of repair time on a ca-sino floor, this situation, or asimilar one, has probablyhappened to you more thenonce. When this happens toyou, you must remember thatyou are about to become arepresentative of the casino,and that the impression thatyou leave on the customerand the slot host will be last-ing, meaningful and impor-tant. For these reasons, Iwould like to review a seriesof guidelines I have collectedthat might help you insurethat experience you are aboutto have is a successful one.

The first, last, and mostimportant point to rememberis that you must always exer-cise courtesy towards thepatron. This may be the mostdifficult thing to accomplishsince the customer mighthave been drinking, mighthave lost some money, and isundoubtedly convinced thathe or she has been cheatedby this infernal, blinking one-armed bandit. The biggest fac-tor in your favor is that youare not the primary customerrepresentative, and that yourONLY function is making thecustomer understand the waythe game is supposed to op-erate. Hopefully, you alreadyhave a complete understand-ing of that topic, but remem-ber that your supervisor is asclose as your radio, so every-thing will be fine no matterwhat. Relax, greet the cus-tomer with a warm, friendlygreeting, and be kind, cour-teous and polite.

Put yourself in thepatron’s position, and pre-pare yourself for rudeness! Itmay not happen, but you’llbe better off if you are pre-pared for it. No matter what is

said, don’t retaliate. Try tokeep in mind that the cus-tomer is mad at the casinoand the game, not at you.Remain detached. It’s a greatidea to get the customer’s firstname early in the encounter,and use it as often as youpossibly can. Smile, and ifthat doesn’t work, smile somemore. If it still doesn’t work,smile even more.

Take extra care to avoidbecoming overbearing or con-descending, because that willonly add fuel to the customer’sfire. Instead, try to find outexactly what the customerwants, so that you can re-strict your comments to thetopic at hand, and avoid say-ing too much. Remember thatyou are not setting casinopolicy, or actually solving thecustomers’ problem, but thatyour function is ONLY to ex-plain, and if necessary dem-onstrate, the proper functionof the game. You are the tech-nical advisor, and while thatfunction is important, evencritical in this situation, it’salso important that you re-member your place. The su-pervisors who are on the sceneare the ones making the bigbucks, and this situation isone of the reasons why theyget more money then you. Letthem handle the customer.

Listen without inter-ruption, and ask questions ifanything is unclear. Remem-ber to consider the custom-ers’ position, and don’t forgetthe possibility that the pa-tron may actually be right!However, if it looks like this isthe case, remember that your

Service Note: IGT Player's Edge Plus

Error display that will not clear. Display reads:Problem does not go

away after trying normal reset procedures. Problem isNOT in main board, motherboard or CMOS chip. Symp-tom persists after clearing with RAM clear chip.

Possible Solution: Press and hold self test switch untilyou hear an audible "ding" in the speaker. This may takeup to 30 seconds so be patient. Close the door and turnthe jackpot reset key.

Call Attendant - CMOS Data

employer is the casino, andthat the validity of the pa-trons complaint should beshared in private with thesupervisor at the scene be-fore you admit the mistake tothe customer. In most cases,the supervisor should be ableto recognize this fact as thesituation unfolds, and willnormally jump right in to sat-isfy the customer as you offeryour explanation of the properfunction of the game. If thisdoesn’t happen, KEEP YOURMOUTH SHUT. Rememberthat there may be more tothis situation then meets theeye, and that your are at thescene ONLY to confirm, ex-plain and if necessary dem-onstrate the proper functionof the game.

Now here’s a bit of ad-vice I probably don’t have totell you. As soon as the su-pervisor gives you clearance,go away! Before you do, how-ever, there is one small taskto complete. Even if the cus-tomer is found to be totallywrong and has been obnox-ious and rude to you, apolo-gize to him or her for theirinconvenience. Then go a stepfurther, and thank them forletting you be of service. Oc-casionally, this can be toughto do, but it’s part of your job.Then get yourself lost in thecrowd.


Ambassador - cont.If the customer has

been decent about the entireincident, it’s not a bad idea tofollow up. Just swing by thegame a little later, and po-litely ask if the game is be-having itself now. It’s a nicetouch that may go a long wayto change the customers’ im-pression of your casino.

I hope that these guide-lines help you in your job. Ifyou stick closely by the ad-vice I have written, you shouldbe able to stay out of anyserious trouble. I’ll be writingmore soon, so till next time,keep ‘em runnin’!

-Frank [email protected]

"Relax, greet thecustomer with a warm,friendly greeting, andbe kind, courteous andpolite. "

Ever wonder how touchscreenswork? I mean, how does it knowwhere you’re touching on thescreen?

In a nutshell, it goes like this:

The touchscreen is a pane oftempered glass with a transpar-ent, thin-film conductive coat-ing applied to the surface. Aprecise pattern of electrodes isprinted along the edge on theconductive layer. To protect theotherwise delicate surface, atransparent glass overcoat isfused over the conductive coat-ing.

This coating, dubbed ClearTek3000, is actually a new processdeveloped and patented byMicrotouch. Older touch sys-tems that lacked this protectiveovercoat would quickly wear outwhere an area of the screen wastouched repeatedly. This is areally bad problem for gamingmachines where the “bet” “deal”and “draw” virtual buttons areeach just a small spot on the

screen. As the conductive coat-ing is worn away, touch sensi-tivity drops. Of course, thiscauses players to have touchthe same spot repeatedly, exac-erbating the wear in a deathspiral of surface destruction.

ClearTek 3000 is 210 timesmore durable than oldtouchscreens that lack protec-tion, with over 20 milliontouches possible in any onespot on the screen. Put intoperspective, if you touched asingle spot on the screen every5 seconds for 24 hours a day,you’d wear it out in no less than3 years. ClearTek 3000 alsomakes the touchscreen ex-tremely resistant to scratchesas well. Likewise, the glass isall but impervious to chemicalspills, having been tested witheverything from lipstick, beerand coffee (all common items ina tavern environment) to brakefluid and sulfuric acid withoutany evidence of damage.

Voltage is applied to the screenthrough the electrodes on all ofthe edges. These electrodes areprecisely engineered to provide,as much as possible, a uniform,low-voltage field throughout thescreen. Any non-linearity is cor-rected at the factory by testingthe screen and storing “linear-ization” values in non-volatileRAM (NOVRAM) in thetouchscreen controller.

When you touch the screen,your body’s capacitance (Yes . .. You are really a walking ca-pacitor.) capacitively coupleswith the voltage field, drawinga tiny bit of electric currentthrough the contact point. Thecurrent flow from each cornerof the screen is proportional tothe distance from the corner toyour finger. Once these fourvalues are determined, all youhave to do is calculate the pro-portion of the current flow fromeach corner in order to locatethe touch point.

How Does it Know? A Touchscreen Primer

Slot Tech Magazine

How Monitors Work

The “pitch” of the CRT

Video gaming machines aremore popular than ever. Not theleast of our responsibilities isvideo monitor repair. When youhave hundreds of machinesrunning twenty-four hours aday, three hundred, sixty-fivedays a year, monitor repairquickly becomes a priority.

Video monitors (also known as“raster scan” monitors) are easyto troubleshoot and to repair.Once we have a basic under-standing of how monitors work,the vast majority of monitorproblems can be isolated andrepaired in well under an hour.

We can get a good idea of howthe monitor works by lookingat the picture tube. In the neckof the picture tube, there’s adevice called the “electron gunassembly.” The electron gundoes exactly what its name im-plies. It shoots out a stream of

electrons. Electrons are thetiny, sub-atomic particles thatsurround the nucleus of anatom. The electron gun assem-bly actually consists of three,individual electron guns. Thereis a separate gun for each of thethree primary colors: Red, greenand blue.

In order to get an electron gunto emit the electrons, the “cath-ode” of the electron gun mustbe heated red-hot. The cathodeis actually the source of elec-trons in the picture tube. Infact, the technical term for apicture tube is “cathode raytube” or “CRT.” When you seethe reddish-orange glow in theneck of the picture tube, you’relooking at the heater doing itsjob. To keep the heater fromburning up, all the oxygen is re-moved from the picture tube. Infact, all gas is removed from theCRT during manufacturing. A

picture tube is a “vacuumtube.”

Coating the inside of the glassscreen of the CRT is a sub-stance called “phosphor.” Thereare actually three differenttypes of phosphor. The threedifferent types of phosphor arelaid down in alternating verti-cal stripes across the face of thepicture tube.When struck by anelectron from the electron gun,each one glows a different color.Each electron gun is preciselyaligned so that its electronsstrike only one color phosphor,hence the guns are referred toas the “red gun” the “green gun”and the “blue gun.” By combin-ing red, green and blue in dif-ferent proportions, we can cre-ate any color we want. For ex-ample, red and blue create vio-let when combined. Adding redand green makes yellow! Blueand green mix to create a kind

Slot Tech Feature Article



of turquoise color called “cyan.”When all three colors are addedtogether, we get white. Conven-tional televisions and computermonitors work in exactly thesame way.

Note that the electrons do notpass through the glass front ofthe picture tube (glass is aninsulator and will not allow theelectrons to pass through) butbounce off and back into thepicture tube. In doing this, theelectrons have traded their “ki-netic energy” (the energy of amoving object) for the light en-ergy that we can see with oureyes.

Because the electron gun issecurely fitted in the neck of thepicture tube, Its aim is fixed atthe center of the face of theCRT. We need a way to movethe electron beam or our pic-ture will be limited to a just asingle bright spot in the centerof the screen! To move the elec-tron beam(s) on the phosphor-covered screen of the CRT, weuse an electromagnet assemblycalled the “yoke.”

The yoke is made of two pairsof coils of wire. When currentis passed through the coils theycreate a magnetic field that “de-flect” the electron beam(s) caus-ing the spot to move on thescreen of the picture tube.

One pair of coils is used to movethe beam to the left and right.They are called the “horizontaldeflection coils.” The other pairof coils move the beam up anddown. They are the “vertical de-flection coils.” By working to-gether, the spot can be movedall over the front of the picturetube.

Let’s see how the raster scanmonitor creates the images onthe front of the picture tube.When the electron gun is firstturned on, the electron beamstarts in the upper left cornerof the CRT. The horizontal de-flection coils (and the horizon-tal deflection circuitry of themonitor that drives them) causethe beam to move from the leftedge of the monitor to the rightedge. This draws a line acrossthe top of the screen, called a

“Raster line.” When the beamgets to the right edge of theCRT, it is turned off and quicklyreturned to the left edge again.This is called the “horizontalretrace.” While the horizontaldeflection circuit of the moni-tor is making the beam movefrom left to right and backagain, the vertical deflectioncircuit is driving the verticaldeflection coils in the yoke,dragging the beam down fromthe top. When the horizontalretrace is completed, the beamends up in a slightly lower po-sition than before. The nexthorizontal line will be drawnjust slightly below the first one.The process is repeated untilsomewhere around 250 indi-vidual, horizontal lines havebeen drawn.

It’s important to note that thelines are drawn only from leftto right. During the horizontalretrace time, all three electronguns are turned off. There is acircuit in the monitor called the“blanking” circuit that turns offall three electron guns duringthe retrace. This is importantbecause if the guns were al-lowed to turn on during thehorizontal retrace (as the mag-netic field of the yoke resets tostart the beams on the left sideof the screen) we would see athin, diagonal line sandwichedbetween raster lines.

At this point, the electronbeams are down in the lowerright corner of the CRT. Theyhave drawn one screen full ofraster lines. A single pass of thebeams from the upper left-hand

corner at the top of the screento the lower right-hand corneron the bottom is called a “field.”

After drawing a field, the beamsmust now return to their start-ing point at the upper left cor-ner of the CRT. This is calledthe “vertical retrace.” But wecannot allow the beams to drawa line as they return from thebottom to the top of the screen.Remember the blanking cir-cuit? The same circuit that isused to turn off the electronguns during the horizontal re-trace is now used to turn off theguns during the vertical retraceas well. In fact, the blanking cir-cuit is probably most importantduring the vertical retrace aswe’ll see below.

Once the beams are returnedto the upper left corner of theCRT, they are turned back onand the process is repeated, 60times a second. Note that thehorizontal deflection circuit hasto make the beam travel backand forth across the screensome 250 times before the ver-tical deflection circuit com-pletes a single trip from the topto the bottom. Consequently,the frequency at which the hori-zontal deflection circuit oper-ates is much higher than thefrequency of the vertical circuit.The horizontal deflection circuitoperates at approximately15,750 hertz (cycles per second)while the frequency of the ver-tical deflection circuit is 60hertz.

Because the horizontal deflec-tion circuit is operating somuch faster than the verticaldeflection circuit, an interest-ing but hidden phenomenonoccurs during the vertical re-trace. As the magnetic field inthe vertical deflection coils re-verses polarity (to begin eachfield at the top of the CRT) thequickly scanning horizontal de-flection circuit actually makesthe beam move back and fortha dozen or so times before thebeams reach the top of thescreen. Turning up the bright-ness will often reveal these hid-den “vertical retrace lines” thatzig-zag their way across thescreen. This is actually the paththe beams take as they make

Monitors - cont.their way from the bottom of thescreen back to the top. Natu-rally, these lines are normallyhidden from view. They are con-cealed by the blanking circuitas it is activated during the ver-tical retrace. Remember theblanking circuit turns off allthree electron guns during theretrace time. If you see thesevertical retrace lines, you mayhave a problem with the blank-ing circuit.

Now we have a way to fill theentire screen with “raster,” butwe still do not have any kind ofimage. At this point, all we canmake is a solid field of white,gray or colored raster. How canwe make the images appear onthe face of the CRT? It’s easy!All we have to do is turn theelectron guns on and off at theright times! When an electrongun is turned on, its electronshit the colored phosphor andwe see that color on the screen.When the electron guns are off,the screen appears black.

A group of three signals are sentfrom the computer in the gameto the circuits in the monitorthat control the three electronguns. These signals are calledthe “video” signals and the cir-cuits in the monitor that con-trol the electron guns are calledthe “video amplifiers.” By con-trolling the amounts of red,green and blue on the screenwe can make any picture wewant. This is known as the RGBsystem.

The three electron guns aredriven by the three video am-plifier circuits. When the com-puter wants something to ap-pear red, it sends a signal to thered amplifier. If the computerwants something to appearblue, it signals the blue ampli-fier, and so on. The higher thevoltage, the brighter the colorwill be. Typically, the color willbegin to appear on the screenwhen the video input signal isat 1 volt and the gun will befully turned on at around 4volts.

Other colors are made fromcombinations of the three pri-mary color. For example, tomake the color yellow, the samesignal is sent to both the redand green amplifiers. Becausethe phosphor stripes are soclose together, our eyes andbrain combine the colors andwe see yellow!

Let’s draw something on thefront of the screen. For ex-ample, suppose we want themonitor to display a red box inthe center of the CRT. As thehorizontal section of the moni-tor is “sweeping” across thescreen from left to right, and thevertical section is “sweeping”down, the red electron gun re-mains turned off until itreaches point A. The gun isthen turned on and kept onuntil the horizontal deflectioncircuit brings the electron beamto point B. At point B, the elec-tron gun is turned off again. Itstays off until it reaches theright edge of the screen, re-traces back to the left edge ofthe screen and returns to thepoint just below pointA (the next “raster line”down). The electrongun is then turned onagain, and a secondline drawn just belowthe first, ending justbelow point B. The pro-cess is repeated untilthe entire box hasbeen drawn. Althoughthe box has beendrawn with individualhorizontal lines, thelines are so close to-gether that we see it asa solid red box.

In order for the monitor to dis-play the images properly, it hasto be “synchronized” with thecomputer that is generating thevideo signal. Without synchro-nization, the box that we justlooked at would be completelyscrambled. It would appearsomething like a pay TV chan-nel on cable television. In fact,the most common method usedto scramble a pay TV channelis a scheme called “syncsupression” where the synchro-nization signal is removed fromthe channel and you pay to getit back. What you’re doing isbuying the sync!

In addition to the three videosignals for red, green and blue,the computer also generatestwo “sync’’ signals. There is a“horizontal sync” signal thatcomes at the end of each line.The horizontal sync signal tellsthe monitor to stop drawing thehorizontal line and quickly re-trace to the left side of the CRTto begin the next line.

The “vertical sync” signal thatoccurs when the beam is downin the lower right corner. Thevertical sync signal tells themonitor to start the vertical re-trace sequence, turning theelectron gun off and returningit to the top of the CRT.

The sync signals have a sepa-rate input to the monitor. Insome cases, there is a separateconnection for both the verti-cal and horizontal sync. some-times, the vertical and horizon-tal sync signals are combined

Vertical sync prevents the picturefrom rolling as shown here.


The flybacktransformer

at the computer to form some-thing called “composite sync.”

Computers may produce eitherone of two types of sync signals.The vertical and horizontal syncsignals may be “positive sync”or “negative sync” Positive syncstarts at around +5 volts, andpulses briefly down to 0 voltsand back to +5 volts. Negativesync does just the opposite. It’snormally at 0 volts, pulsingbriefly to +5 volts and back inorder to synchronize the moni-tor.

Both sync systems are equallyeffective. The designer of thegame’s hardware simplychooses one system or theother. In order to make theirmonitors compatible with anycomputer system, most moni-tor manufacturers have de-signed their monitors to acceptboth positive and negative syncinputs. In some monitors, thenegative sync is connected tothe monitor through a separateconnector. Some monitors usea switch to select either posi-tive or negative sync, others aredesigned to accept either syncpolarity at a single connector;automatically detecting its po-larity.

The best way to understandsync is to see what happens toa monitor without sync. If amonitor loses vertical sync, thepicture will roll from top to bot-tom or from bottom to top EX-ACTLY AS IF YOU NEED TOADJUST THE VERTICAL HOLD(also known as “vertical fre-quency”) CONTROL. Naturally,if you see a rolling picture youwill try adjusting the vertical

hold control. If you can get thepicture to slow down but itnever locks in place, you havea problem with vertical sync.

Loss of horizontal sync can bea bit more difficult to recognizeuntil you know what to look for.If the horizontal sync is justbarely out of wack, the picturemay be seen as shifting from leftto right or vice-versa. Generally,the picture will be completelyscrambled (worse than ascrambled pay TV channel) withlittle segments of diagonal linesall over the screen. Nothing willbe recognizable on the screen.Again, try adjusting the fre-quency control (this time the“horizontal frequency” or “hori-zontal hold” control) to see ifyou can lock the picture inplace. If not, you most likelyhave a problem with horizontalsync.

So, the picture is actually madefrom electron beams that arescanning across the screenfrom top to bottom, being con-trolled by the three video sig-nals and two sync signals thatcome from the computer. Al-though we now have a way tocontrol the electron beams, westill have another problem to

overcome before ourmonitor will workproperly. Rememberwhen we looked at thebeam of electrons asthey left the electrongun and struck theglass front of the pic-ture tube? The elec-trons struck the phos-phor coating the insideof the glass, andbounced back into thepicture tube. But whathappens to the elec-trons now? An electronis a real, honest-to-goodness physical par-

ticle of matter, so it cannot justdisappear! If we leave the elec-trons alone, however, our moni-tor will not work. If left to them-selves, the electrons will forma negatively charged cloud in-side the bell of the CRT. Thisnegatively charged cloud willrepel the beam of negativelycharged electrons as they try toget from the electron gun to thefront of the picture tube, pre-

venting them from reaching thephosphor and producing animage.

This problem is solved by a partof the monitor called the “highvoltage unit.” The high voltageunit is also known as the“flyback transformer.” All moni-tors and television sets have ahigh voltage unit. When theysay “high voltage,” they are notkidding! The high voltage unitin video gaming monitors canproduce +20,000 volts DC ormore!

The inside of the bell of the pic-ture tube is covered with a me-tallic coating that conductselectricity. It’s called “aquadag.”On the top of the picture tubeis a small metal plug called the“second anode” of the picturetube. The second anode is con-nected to the aquadag thatcoats the inside of the CRT, andthe high voltage is connected tothe second anode.

Now, an electron that hasstruck the front of the CRT andbounced off is immediately at-tracted to the positively chargedaquadag and literally suckedout of the second anode by thehigh voltage. The high voltageis essential to the operation ofthe monitor. If you lose the highvoltage power supply in a moni-tor, you will not see anythingon the screen!

Part 2 of “How MonitorsWork” will appear in nextmonth’s issue (May, 2001) ofSlot Tech Magazine

Scott Reynoldsrecently gradu-ated from TheGreen ValleySchool of Gam-ing in Las Ve-gas, Nevadawhere he took their course inslot repair. He shares his experi-ences as a student with Slot TechMagazine:

One thing you should knowbefore getting involved in anySlot Repair course is that whenyou graduate, you will possessthe knowledge to gain employ-ment as an “Entry Level” tech.This may seem obvious to some,but a lot of people think that bytaking a course, it will put themon a fast track to the top; this isnot true, as with any other pro-fession, you must begin at thebottom and work your way up.

The course I took consisted ofthree modules:* Module A: Basic electronics,bill validators, coin comparitors,an introduction to Regulation6A and Mikohn Progressive Sys-tems.* Module B: Gaming machinetheory* Module C: Gaming machinelab

Module A:

Basic electronics: This was verybasic indeed, just what youneeded to know to get by. Un-less you want to become a“board” or “bench” tech, youwill not run into much that isnot covered in this part of thecourse. You will learn the fun-damentals of AC & DC voltagesand basic multimeter use in-cluding how to test for continu-ity and resistance; wiring dia-grams are also briefly covered.If you would eventually like totry for the jobs mentioned above,I would suggest at least a col-lege course in electronics.

Bill validators: The DBV (Dollar

Bill Validator) and WBA (WorldBill Acceptor), both made byJCM, are the most commonfound in Las Vegas. There areothers, such as the Marsvalidator but they were not cov-ered in the course as they makeup a very small percentage ofthe validators used here in LasVegas. An oscilloscope alongwith a test board is used tocalibrate the DBV, checkingmagnetism, black, white, colorand a few other sensors. Asentry-level techs, it is doubtfulthat this would be part of yourduties but it is a useful skill tohave and can look impressiveon a resume.

Coin comparitors: These devicesare used to differentiate betweengood coins and slugs. They dothis in several ways: a samplecoin is inserted into the mecha-nism to gauge diameter whilethree sensing coils determine ifthe metallic content of the coinbeing dropped is within toler-ance. Coin Mechanisms Inc.manufactures most of the coincomparitors used in slot ma-chines. They have many differ-ent models to choose from andcan be calibrated using anymultimeter that can measuredown to millivolts (mV).

Regulation 6A: This regulationis in place to prevent the laun-dering of money through a ca-sino. For more information onthis regulation, contact yourlocal gaming control board.

Mikohn Progressive Systems:Mikohn developed the progres-sive system casinos use in dis-playing jackpots for slot ma-chines and several table games.They also manufacture the signsused to display this informa-tion. You are taught how toprogram these signs andtroubleshoot communicationproblems associated with them.

Module B

Gaming Machine Theory: Thisis where all the different slotmachines are covered: Bally,IGT, Williams, Sigma, Univer-sal, Atronics, VLC and more. Inthe class where I was enrolled,only the first five machines listedabove were covered; Atronicsand VLC are growing in popu-larity in a lot of the smallercasinos here in Las Vegasthough, and are worth men-tioning. Gaming machine theorybasically familiarizes you witheach machine, its nomencla-ture and troubleshooting. Whilemost machines are fundamen-tally the same, there are differ-ences in terminology from onemanufacturer to the next aswell as different ways to resettilts. Video slots and video pokermachines are, for the most part,simpler to work with as theyprovide the most feedback viathe video monitor.

At the other end of the spec-trum, error codes and testingdone on reel slots are more chal-lenging because all you have todeal with in most cases are 1 -3 digit LED read-outs; you mustuse a numeric code to deciphererror messages and stepthrough self testing. The excep-tion to the rule is the SigmaSlot, which has an “LED Mes-sage Center” (11-character dis-play) that can help immenselyin determining a problem orrunning a test. Most of the casi-nos will have pocket sized book-lets you can carry that tell thecodes and common test modesfor each of the different ma-chines. Theory is, by and large,the driest part of the course.Twelve different machines cov-ered in ten days, also made itthe most frantic.

Module C

This is where all the theory paidoff. We were actually turned

Educational ExperienceBy Scott Reynolds

Slot Tech Feature Article


venting any further coins frombeing dispensed. The hoppercontinues to run briefly, butwhen the time out is reached, a“32” code flashes signifying ajam. You remove the jam, re-place the hopper and once thedoor is closed, the machine re-sumes payout as normal.

An IGT PE Plus videopoker machine has a “DoorOpen” error message on thescreen preventing game play.

You open and close the door tothe machine (resetting thegame) but the error messagereturns. An IGT PE Plus has anoptical sensor that tells it whenthe door is closed or open, ablocked or broken sensor cancause this error message. Youopen the door and check thewiring of the optics, everythinglooks fine. You then check theoptic for dirt, find some andclean it off. When you close thedoor now, the error message isgone and game play can re-sume.

While walking throughthe casino, a customer callsyou over and complains thathis video poker machine willnot accept a bill.

You look at the customersscreen and realize he is tryingto insert a bill while in the middleof a hand. You explain that thebill validator is disabled while ahand is in play. When the cus-tomer finishes, he tries his billagain; the machine now acceptsit.

A customer complainsthat a slot machine will notaccept any coins; they keepfalling through the machineand back into the coin tray.

You check to see if the coincomparitor has power (it does),blocked optics (it doesn’t) or amissing or incorrect damperweight (it's fine). Last but notleast, you check the sensitivitypotentiometer and find that it isout of adjustment. After mak-ing the proper adjustment, allworks fine.

A Bally ProSlot will notaccept coins or bills.

Upon further examination, youfind that neither the coincomparitor or bill validator haspower. After checking that allwiring harnesses are intact andplugged in securely, you noticethat the “Coin mech. toggleswitch” (a feature found exclu-sively in Bally machines) hasbeen turned off. Once turnedback on, all works perfectly.

These were just a few of theproblems we encountered intraining and our final exam.Some were more challengingthan others but all gave a goodexample of things that can andwill be seen by slot techs everyday. In all, it was a fascinatingcourse and I learned a greatdeal. Slot machines are nolonger a mystery and I am look-ing forward to a promising ca-reer in this ever growing field.

For further information contact:Green Valley School of Gaming3055 E. Post RdLas Vegas, NV 89120tel.702.450.3167fax.702.450.3169e-mailschooladmin@greenvalleygaming.comVisit the website atgreenvalleygaming.com

- Scott [email protected]

loose on the machines and per-mitted to test everything wehad learned. The instructorwould simulate a problem on amachine and we were allowedto diagnose and “fix” it. Thiswas for me, the best part of thecourse and it really gave you afeeling of accomplishmentwhen you were able to figureout why a machine behavedthe way it did. Let me explainsome of the problems we en-countered in class:

A Bally ProSlot has a“32” tilt code on the displaywhen you walk up to themachine.

If there is a tilt code present,when you arrive at a machine,it must be cleared before anyfurther troubleshooting can bedone, In this case, to clear atilt, you would press the resetswitch. If the tilt code returns,you would check the area inquestion. In this case, a “32”tilt signifies a “Hopper empty.”This error code pops up whenthe hopper is empty or while,during a payout, the optic thatcounts the coins being dis-pensed to the tray does notcount a coin for a predeter-mined number of seconds. Youopen the machine up only tofind that there are plenty ofcoins in the hopper.

Upon closer examination, yousee two coins jammed underthe knife (see illustration) pre-

KKKKKeep in TOUCH witheep in TOUCH witheep in TOUCH witheep in TOUCH witheep in TOUCH withtodtodtodtodtodaaaaay's technologies.y's technologies.y's technologies.y's technologies.y's technologies.Don't misDon't misDon't misDon't misDon't miss a singles a singles a singles a singles a singleisisisisissue of Slot Tsue of Slot Tsue of Slot Tsue of Slot Tsue of Slot TechechechechechMagMagMagMagMagazine. Subazine. Subazine. Subazine. Subazine. Subscribescribescribescribescribetodtodtodtodtodaaaaay!y!y!y!y!

Visit the website atslot-techs.com

AWP Department

Global CRITICAL Update'King of the swingers' and 'Stakeyer claim' have been updated.Due to an intermittent "Hopperempty" fault that has arisen.Please fit the new EPROM assoon as possible.King Of The Swingers is V1.6Stake Yer Claim is V1.5Call customer service on:01992 464469 or download forfree on: 01992 461702 from theGlobal Bulletin Board.

Global post code is: EN11 0NT,Please correct all databases andrecords to prevent delays.

Barcrest CRITICAL UpdateYou are advised of the follow-ing program update andstrongly recommended to up-date your machines as soon aspossible.

Big Brother awp, BBRO 1.0King Kebab awp, KBAB 1.0Psycho Cash Beast awp, 1.0Frenzy awp, FRNZ 1.0

Crystal Upgrade - Thank YourLucky BarsCrystal Leisure suggest thatowners of Thank Your LuckyBars update to version 7.1 ofthe program. We queried aproblem with Crystal a fewweeks ago and they denied any-thing was 'odd' about the gameinforming us that there was noprogram update since our ver-sion, which was 0.4. Surpris-ingly, Crystal are now on ver-sion 7.1, so who doesn't knowwhat??. The new update hasbeen suggested as non critical,which is where I beg to differ, Isay, if you have anything lower,upgrade NOW. Game balanceis the reason, I'm annoyed itwasn't attended to earlier...a

brilliant game ruined by theslow reaction by Crystal to animportant query from our ar-cade team!. Things should im-prove now it's been realised.

BARCREST PROGRAM UP-DATE

BARCREST - Advise of the fol-lowing program update as soonas possible.

Machine: King KebabCurrent Prg Version: Kbab 0.4

Purpose of update: Correctinga problem with the operation ofthe "Follow Me" barcode fea-ture.Contact: 0161 830 6549

Maygay - Critical updatesPlayer reaction to the machinehas resulted in mixed cashboxperformance. To enhance gameplay and prizes available to thecasual player, the software hasbeen updated to change the endgame and be more playerfriendly. Latest s/w: Non data,SS010000 - Data, SS010001.The software and instructionsheet is available from theMaygay spares department andwill be on a loan basis, whichmust be returned to Maygay forprompt credit.

Others: Duff beer guide,SA000031Secret agent, SA000060Sir Winalot, SA000136Pounds of the Baskervilles,SA000128

We don't normally feature clubmachines but there is a criti-cal update for Tutankhamun:SC990041 (game manipulation)

Skill with prize: Strike it rich:SS000027 (Graphics card com-patibility)Countdown: SS010000 (Gameplay enhancement)

Spares: 01902 792304BBS: 01902 792907

Thomas Automatics - Changemachine News

Following an announcement ina previous technical bulletin,Thomas have finally approvedthe MkIV hopper for use withtheir products. They have nowfinalised software to allow thecomplete interchangeability be-tween MkIIA or MkIV hoppersin their products.

Software is now available toprovide note acceptance for theBoE new £10.00 note. As wellas accepting the new note, allupgrades will include the lat-est counterfeit protection.'Complete replacements' will bebrand new readers adn will at-tract a twelve month warranty.'Hardware upgrades' will be re-built in their technical work-shop and will attract a threemonth warranty.

WARNING: Ardac S2000banknote readers have beenthe subject of continual im-provement with major improve-ments on the change from awheel driven to a belt driven in-ternal transport mechanismand form 16k to 48k processor.NO WHEEL DRIVE UNITS WILLPERFORM SATISFACTORILYWITH THE LATEST ACCEP-TANCE SOFTWARE ANDCOUNTERFEIT PROTECTION,EVEN IF UPGRADED TO THE48K PROCESSOR.

By Kinger! (UK)


The proliferation of Scottishbanknotes and the introductionof the new BoE notes hasbrought Thomas to a situationwhere the existing Ardac S2000and WACS banknote readerssimply do not have a greatenough processing capacity tohandle all the notes required.

In preparation for hte introduc-tion of the Euro, Ardac havebeen developing a new proces-sor board, with greatly in-creased processing capability,and it was decided that this newboard was the only effective wayto handle combined Scottishand BoE note acceptance.The first sample of a WACS con-taining the new processor iscurrently with us for workshopand field testing and, oncethese tests have been com-pleted, more information will be

released.

NV4: All English and Scottishmachines containing the NV4banknote readers and dis-patched from the factory on orafter 30.10.00 will provide foracceptance of the new BoE£10.00 note. However, a reviseddata set is now available to in-clude data taken from circu-lated notes and readers need tobe returned to Thomas Auto-matics to be updated. 08451304444 email:[email protected]

InfoCash - ATM unitsAll those running InfoCashATM's should now have re-ceived the software update.This update improves the 'Sur-charging message screens' onyour ATM to bring them inlinewith current rules from Link.

The option to cancel the trans-action by the customer mustnow be made available on aseparate screen.

InfoCash state that many of htebanks are not charging theircustomers 'Disloyalty fees' from01.01.2001, they cannot, atthis stage, confirm which banksare conforming to new regula-tion guide lines and which willbe surcharging their customersin a different way ie by a cardissuers fee or transaction fee.They hope, however, to see theend of the disloyalty fee over thenext few weeks.

Astra - New DetailsAstra Games Ltd, Brocastle Av-enue, Bridgend CF313UX is thenew address for Astra. Tele-phone lines are:Main 01656 658658Fax: 01656 672849BBS: 01656 672846

QPS **Critical** - Tutti FruttiAnother update for this verypopular machine, this time tocorrect error codes which wereomitted in error during the lastupgrade. Not too critical but itis if you have an error with nocode to guide you, so: Version2.2 is released hot on the heelsof version 2.0 from around twoweeks ago.

It's nice to see QPS are listen-ing to their customers whenthey mention 'oddities' in theirmachines and then act on itimmediately...if only othercompany's were as hot.

[email protected]

Are you a slot tech withsomething to say about ser-vice and repair? Join theteam at Slot Tech Magazine!

Game type: IGT I-gamesProblem: Excessive coin-out time outs

This is a simple problem, accompanied by a simple solution. Perhaps asolution so simple I know several techs at a couple of casinos have overlookedit. On the coin opper, behind the coin-out optic and mounted on the samebracket is a small spring loaded arm. For some strange reason the mountingscrew on this arm works itself loose and causes these games to lock up in thecoin-out jam tilt when there’s no evidence of any jam. Of course the coin outjam tilt is caused when the voltage supplied to the photovoltaic cell in the coin-out optic reciever is interupted for too long. This spring loaded arm obviouslyhas a direct influence over the smooth flow of coins across this optic. Tightenthis screw periodically and your problem will be solved.

- Mike [email protected]

Game Type: IGT Addams familyProblem: Screen Locking up during play

Since IGT has introduced the Addams familyslot machine it has become very popular withcustomers. Unfortunately, periodically thescreen display will freeze during play requir-ing you, in most cases, either to reboot thegame or to swap monitors with the one next toit.

Neither fix is easy due to the very large andawkwardly mounted monitors and also theextremely long boot up period on the newerIGT video slots.

The solution (well, sometimes) believe it ornot, is to walk up to the game and toggle thereset switch three times. Yes, I know itsounds like a joke. However, if you ask any ofthe IGT techs in my area, they will all confirmthis. Of course they can’t explain this phe-nomena but it works.

- Mike [email protected]

Slot Tech Troubleshooting Tips

Slot Tech Magazine

Hey, Mike - How about usingLoctite or Glyptol or something tolock the screw in place? - ed

Randy Fromm's Casino School Graduatesfrom Speaking Rock Casino in El Paso,Texas. From left to right: Art DeLa Cruz,Victor Naj, David Frias, Rafael "Shorty"Gomez , Alice King, Ruben Acosta and slotmanager Jay Rodela

Randy Fromm’sCasino School

Randy Fromm’s Casino School is a practical,no-nonsense look at how gaming machines workand how to repair them when they don’t. No pre-vious knowledge of electronics is requiredto get the most out of the school. The CasinoSchool is geared for those who want to learnhow to fix gaming devices without having to learncomplex electronic theory or purchase expen-sive test equipment.

Be prepared for six hours of accelerated learn-ing each day. Class begins at 9:00 am sharpeach day and continues until 4:00 pm. The Ca-sino School provides each student with referencematerials and troubleshooting guides that willbe valuable aids for repairing equipment on lo-cation and in the shop.

Students learn how to work with:

THE DIGITAL MULTIMETER This relatively inexpensive piece oftest equipment is easy to operate.Casino School students learn touse the digital multimeter to performtests and measurements that will pin-point the cause of a failure down toa single component.

ELECTRONIC COMPONENTS The individual components used in games areintroduced. Parts such as resistors, capacitors,diodes, potentiometers and transistors are cov-ered individually. Students learn how the com-ponents work and how to test them using themeter.

SCHEMATIC DIAGRAMS Schematic diagramsare the “blueprints”for electronics. Learn-ing to read schemat-ics is easy once youknow how the partswork!

POWER SUPPLIES Power supply failure is a common complaintin many different types of systems.. Powersupply failures are discussed during theclass, along with shortcuts for troubleshoot-

ing and repairing them.

MONITOR REPAIR The monitors used invideo slots are designedfor quick, easy, and saferepair. Students will

learn the theory of operation of all types ofmonitors and how to repair monitors downto the component level. Of course, monitorsafety will also be discussed.

On-Site Technician training

Randy Fromm's Casino School 1944 Falmouth Dr. El Cajon, CA 92020-2827tel.619.593.6131 fax.619.593.6132 e-mail [email protected]

For a complete brochure, visit the website at: slot-techs.com

You do not have to send your slot techsto Las Vegas or Atlantic City for train-ing. Randy Fromm's Casino Schoolbrings the training to you. ContactRandy Fromm's Casino School today toreserve a date for your slot tech school.

ADVERTISEMENT

Contacts for Slot Techs

Allied Electronics 401 East 8th St. Fort Worth, TX 76102 (800) 433-5700

Caltronics 21315 Saticoy Street Canoga Park, CA 91304 (818) 346-4936

Digi-Key PO Box 677 Thief River Falls, MN 56701 (800) 344-4539

Fordham 260 Motor Parkway Hauppauge, NY 11788 (800) 645-9518 (800) 832-1446 NY

Happ Controls 106 Garlisch Drive Elk Grove, IL 60007 888-BUY-HAPP(289-4277) 847-593-6130

Jameco Electronics 1355 Shoreway Road Belmont, CA 94002 (415) 592-8097

JDR Microdevices 110 Knowles Dr. Los Gatos, CA 95030 (800) 538-5000

MCM Electronics 858 East Congress Park Dr. Centerville, OH 45459 (800) 543-4330 (800) 762-4315 (OH)

Mouser Electronics 2401 Hwy. 287 North Mansfield, TX 76063 (800) 346-6873

Newark Electronics 4801 North Ravenswood Ave. Chicago, IL 60640 (312) 784-5100

New Jersey Semiconductor Products, Inc. 20 Stearn Ave. Springfield, NJ 07081 (201) 376-2922 (212) 227-6005

Parts Express International, Inc. 340 East First Street Dayton, Ohio 45402 (800) 338-0531

Sintec Company 28 8th St. PO Box 410 Frenchtown, NJ 08825 (800) 526-5960

Solid State Sales PO Box 74D Somerville, MA 02143 (800) 343-5230

Note: I use New Jersey SemiconductorProducts, Inc. the most for semiconductors- ed.

PARTS SUPPLIERSElectronic Components

SubscriptionsRandy Fromm's

Slot Tech Magazine is published monthly by:Slot Tech Magazine1944 Falmouth Dr.El Cajon, CA 92020-2827tel.619.593.6131fax.619.593.6132e-mail [email protected]

Subscription rates:

Domestic (USA) 1 year - $60.00 2 years - $120.00

International 1 year - $120.00 2 years - $240.00

Company Name ______________________________________________________

Contact _____________________________________________________________

Address ____________________________________________________________

Address ____________________________________________________________

City _________________________ State/Prov. ___________________________

Country ______________________ Zip/Postal Code _______________________

Telephone ____________________ Fax __________________________________

E-mail ________________________

[ ] 1 year subscription, domestic[ ] 1 year subscription, foreign[ ] 2 year subscription, domestic[ ] 2 year subscription, domestic

Type of card:[ ] American Express [ ] Discover [ ] MasterCard [ ] VisaAccount Number: ________________________

Expiration Date: ________________________

Inside Slot Tech Magazineslot-tech.com/members/magazine/lores/april01.pdf · Williams slant top...

Documents

Transcript of Inside Slot Tech Magazineslot-tech.com/members/magazine/lores/april01.pdf · Williams slant top...