IGT S+ Double Diamonds noob

[diskmonger]

I picked up an IGT S+ Double Diamonds machine for free about a week ago, I know nothing about slot machines but have been doing a lot of reading up on them.  Since the board has EPROMS I know it's an S+.  The machine sat unused for years as mostly a display piece at a local business.  Powering the machine up I get the "12" error which after reading about the machine indicates the battery on the board needs to be changed.  I have the battery on order, along with the RESET and SET chips.  I plan on just clearing the first error by replacing the battery and going on from there.

I see many of these machines use a coin comparator, you slip the sample coin in and it uses that sample coin to compare against any coins that are put in.  This machine however doesn't seem to have one, the coin slot comes right down into a plastic device called a MONEX and then it looks like there is some kind of circuitry below that.  Any kind of coin you put into the machine seems to go directly into the hopper (token, quarter, whatever).  Once I get this thing working I'm just not sure how to configure what kind of coins it takes.  Just looking for a little guidance.

[Shaggy]

Welcome to NLG. IMONEX is a coin mechanism not a coin comparator. My guess is it probably works good. Was the MPU clean and free of acid damage when you took it out? Cross the bridge with the coin mech. when you get it running. Good price....

Dave

[rokgpsman]

Those IMONEX coin acceptors are pretty reliable and simple, lots of different arcade and slot machines used them. They are made for a particular coin, plus the coin entry slot on the outside of the machine also helps determine the coin the machine accepts. Unless yours isn't working for some reason I wouldn't worry about it. They are never lubricated, just clean if dirty. If you remove the IMONEX coin acceptor you can look it over, there is sometimes a sticker or inkstamp saying what coin it is for. You can also play with it outside the machine and see how a coin goes thru it.

The casinos started using the electronic coin comparitors for better security against slugs and other cheaters. There's no need for you to convert to one unless you just want to.

If the coin acceptor doesn't like the inserted coin it returns it to the coin tray on the front of the machine. If the coin is accepted it falls out the bottom of the coin acceptor and goes past a pair of coin optic boards. These boards have optic tx and rx circuits to detect that a coin has passed thru. They work in a similar way to those safety beam sensors at the bottom of a garage door to detect if something is in the path of the lightbeam. These boards signal the main logic board (mpu board) that a coin has passed and you get a playing credit on the machine. After falling past the coin optic boards the coin slides into the coin hopper.

On any machine that is new to you it is wise to pull the mpu board and check it carefully for a leaking battery. Prevention is a lot better than dealing with a problem later. Post photos of anything you have a question about.

Also, both the plain S and the S+ models have eproms on the mpu board. The eproms are where the game software is located. The main difference between an S and an S+ is in how the mpu board is connected to the rest of the machine. If the mpu board plugs downward into another circuit board (called a motherboard) below then the machine is an S+. On the plain S models the mpu board has wiring cables with connectors that slide onto the edges of the mpu board. There are other differences between the models but this is the biggie.

Please post photos of your machine, from the outside and some with the door open. We'd like to see what you got there for such a good deal!   

 

[RB]

Once you get that battery replaced, you might find your coin acceptor is in working order. It has a 25c coin head on the machine. I can see the "12" on the back in your pic.

[diskmonger]

Great information guys, I really appreciate it.  The business I acquired the machine from was an automotive business, the machine was a display piece in their waiting room.  The business was sold and they were actually going to throw it into the car crusher and get rid of it.  I just couldn't bear the thought of the machine being destroyed so they allowed me to take it home

Sounds like the coin acceptor is not something to worry about, I've found several quarters inside the machine so I am going to assume it's setup to take regular US quarters.  I'm attaching some pictures here if you guys can offer anymore information that would be great.  I'd especially be interested in knowing if I have an S or S+ as well.  One thing I do see down towards where the hopper and power switch is, is a couple wires that are not hooked up to anything.  Almost looks like some speaker wire with a couple connectors on the end.

[diskmonger]

Couple more pics of the machine

[RB]

Looks like an S to me.

[diskmonger]

Ok, so I have an "S" and not an "S+" - good to know

I'm assuming after replacing the battery it may be necessary to use the reset EPROM.  I have not found any information on using the RESET or SET chip on the regular S model, do the S+ chips work in the regular S?

[Shaggy]

It's an S+. The Mpu is mounted to the back wall on an S. This is an early style S+. They didn't have validators but do have door optics and are the same as the later S+ models. With the MPU on the left wall the test switch will be down among the wires coming out of the front. Also that's a 10MHZ mpu. If you look on the right side above the 2 wires that go to the reset key. On the very front are the door optics. Also on the MPU the third molex connector down that doesn't have anything plugged into it. Right below that you can see a little white switch sticking out. That is the test switch for clearing errors.

Dave

[Shaggy]

Does your coin tray have a big speaker on the right side? Those could be extra speaker wires.

[Shaggy]

Okay scrolling through the reel chip on your machine, the SS3633 is a 87% payoff. Ugh. When you are ready to change, I would suggest a SS3436-95% or SS3664-97%. They don't payout that much for every $100 put in, but you'll enjoy a higher payout for home use. Also S style machines don't have reelproms. The payout is included in the game chip.Here's a great video to change out the battery if you've never done it. 3rd one down.

https://search.yahoo.com/search;_ylc=X3oDMTFiN25laTRvBF9TAzIwMjM1MzgwNzUEaXRjAzEEc2VjA3NyY2hfcWEEc2xrA3NyY2h3ZWI-?p=replace+slot+machine+battery&fr=yfp-t&fp=1&toggle=1&cop=mss&ei=UTF-8

[rokgpsman]

.....One thing I do see down towards where the hopper and power switch is, is a couple wires that are not hooked up to anything.  Almost looks like some speaker wire with a couple connectors on the end.....

Thanks for the photos, they really help to clear up a lot of questions and make things easier to understand. Have you pulled out the hopper yet to check behind it? After removing the coin tray the hopper just slides straight forward, there are a couple of metal guides made into the machine cabinet floor. It will unplug itself as it slides forward.

Those 2 loose wires near the power switch could be for a security switch that was in the machine's stand back when it was in a casino. The machine is made so that if the hopper gets full of coins (and with the low game winning percentage your machine has that could have happened often) the machine then directs inserted coins to an overflow chute and the coins fall into a plastic bucket down inside the stand. Since there is money inside the stand they have a door on the front of the stand, it has a lock and a security switch to sense if the door is unlocked. Anyway, maybe that's what those 2 disconnected wires are for.

[diskmonger]

Does your coin tray have a big speaker on the right side? Those could be extra speaker wires.

I don't see an extra speaker on the right, just the standard one on the left.  Here is a better picture of the wire.

[diskmonger]

.....One thing I do see down towards where the hopper and power switch is, is a couple wires that are not hooked up to anything.  Almost looks like some speaker wire with a couple connectors on the end.....

Thanks for the photos, they really help to clear up a lot of questions and make things easier to understand. Have you pulled out the hopper yet to check behind it? After removing the coin tray the hopper just slides straight forward, there are a couple of metal guides made into the machine cabinet floor. It will unplug itself as it slides forward.

Those 2 loose wires near the power switch could be for a security switch that was in the machine's stand back when it was in a casino. The machine is made so that if the hopper gets full of coins (and with the low game winning percentage your machine has that could have happened often) the machine then directs inserted coins to an overflow chute and the coins fall into a plastic bucket down inside the stand. Since there is money inside the stand they have a door on the front of the stand, it has a lock and a security switch to sense if the door is unlocked. Anyway, maybe that's what those 2 disconnected wires are for.

I have not had the hopper out yet, I will try removing that in the next few days.  That is a good theory on the security switch for the stand it would have been on.  There is a secondary chute that appears to go down into a hole at the base of the machine, which is exactly what you are describing.

Thanks again for all the great information, I should have the battery in the next few days I will be sure to report back on how everything went after the replacement.

[rokgpsman]

The mpu board looks in nice condition. There's not a lot that goes wrong with these machines, sometimes the power supply or mpu board go bad but that doesn't happen often, and even if so the parts are readily available for reasonable prices and you can replace them yourself. After replacing the battery and checking all fuses you may have a working machine fairly soon.

I wouldn't worry too much about the 2 loose wires for now, as you get the machine running it will become apparent what they are for. On the right side of the machine when facing it, not far from the pull handle you should see a keyswitch. That is the reset switch. On the inside of the machine that reset switch should have 2 wires attached. If you didn't get the reset key that isn't a huge problem, they are sold lots of places. The reset key is usually called a "2341" key, that is the one just about universal in use.

I brightened and reposted a few of your photos so some of the details would be more visible.

[diskmonger]

The mpu board looks in nice condition. There's not a lot that goes wrong with these machines, sometimes the power supply or mpu board go bad but that doesn't happen often, and even if so the parts are readily available for reasonable prices and you can replace them yourself. After replacing the battery and checking all fuses you may have a working machine fairly soon.

I wouldn't worry too much about the 2 loose wires for now, as you get the machine running it will become apparent what they are for. On the right side of the machine when facing it, not far from the pull handle you should see a keyswitch. That is the reset switch. On the inside of the machine that reset switch should have 2 wires attached. If you didn't get the reset key that isn't a huge problem, they are sold lots of places. The reset key is usually called a "2341" key, that is the one just about universal in use.

Great!  I'll let you know how things go, I plan on getting the battery replaced sometime later in the week.  Yep, I did manage to get the reset key with the machine so I'm all set there.

[RB]

I'm glad you saved it from "The Crusher". As you can already see there's a lot of good folks on here that can help you with tech issues & parts. It's an addiction. Enjoy the ride & kudos for the detailed pics you posted.

[knagl]

Looks like an S to me.

It's an S+. The Mpu is mounted to the back wall on an S. This is an early style S+.

Agreed with Shaggy.  The exterior of the machine has a lot of hallmarks of an "S" (non-plus), but the MPU board makes it an S+.  Looks like you've gotten lots of good advice already.  I'll just add a link here to the common S+ error codes, which you'll likely run into a couple of them after you change the battery.  Follow the resolutions for the code(s) you get, and you should be in business quickly.

http://newlifegames.net/igterrors/

Of note, as rokgpsman pointed out in Reply #11, the self-test button on your machine is located on the MPU board enclosure, to the left of the hopper.  You'll need to use that button to get past certain error codes.  The jackpot reset keyswitch on the side of the machine is also used at times, as described in the link above.

[diskmonger]

The amount of knowledge on this forum is pretty incredible, thanks again for the insight guys.  I made a donation to the site hopefully that helps out with costs, etc.

Still waiting on the battery, I did pull the coin hopper out today and took a better picture of where that wire is running to.  As discussed earlier in the thread it sounds like maybe some part of the alarm system for the cabinet that it would have sat on.

One other question I had, on the top right of the machine there is a hole in the cabinet.  Looks like something was installed there at some point, anyone know what that would have been?  I'd like to cover that up or put whatever was there back so I don't have the silly looking hole there.  Hopefully you can see in the picture but there is a larger hole about an inch or two in diameter and then a couple small screw holes surrounding the larger hole.

[Shaggy]

The amount of knowledge on this forum is pretty incredible, thanks again for the insight guys.  I made a donation to the site hopefully that helps out with costs, etc.

Still waiting on the battery, I did pull the coin hopper out today and took a better picture of where that wire is running to.  As discussed earlier in the thread it sounds like maybe some part of the alarm system for the cabinet that it would have sat on.

One other question I had, on the top right of the machine there is a hole in the cabinet.  Looks like something was installed there at some point, anyone know what that would have been?  I'd like to cover that up or put whatever was there back so I don't have the silly looking hole there.  Hopefully you can see in the picture but there is a larger hole about an inch or two in diameter and then a couple small screw holes surrounding the larger hole.

I have one of those on mine too. Sometimes those had an external bill validator mounted on the side. Big ugly dude. Don't know for sure but, if it bothers you get a cool casino logo of some kind and cover it up. Or even a fan cover, not used but never looks bad. It may also have been a casino monitor of some sort. That's been a lot of years.

Dave