IGT Players Edge Poker needs help

[Hiram]

I took the hopper out & tugged on that black knob , the mpu  finally came out ! I found one prehistoric bumble bee wedged under the motherboard but , no coins. Is there a place I can buy a battery holder to solder on the board ? That would make changing the battery a lot easier  ...but , is it worth the trouble ? If it isn't ..where can I find this battery ? I might  as well change it out while I have it open .

[Hiram]

There's one IC socket that's empty ..am I missing an IC ?

[Amechanic]

Not all sockets are used. You need a 1/2 AA Lithium battery with solder leads. If you have a battery store in your area, they should have one. You can fine removable battery’s and holders on EBay. You can measure the battery’s voltage. New the have about 3.60V and should be good to down to around 2.8V-3.00V

[Hiram]

Great !! ..there's a Battery store one town over so , I'll call them tomorrow and see if they have one ..thanks ..and I'm glad I'm not missing an IC  lol
How many years do those batteries last  ? Is it something I'll have to replace every 2 or 3 years ?

[Amechanic]

They should last 3-4 years.

[rokgpsman]

Your mpu board is the single-game type, it currently has PP0728 software which is Double Bonus Poker. That version has about 91% player payback percentage. Other versions have a different payback percentage, such as PP0725 with a 96% payback percentage. You can also install a different type of poker game, like Deuces Wild Poker, Joker Poker, Standard Draw Poker, Jacks or Better, etc. 

You can install a battery holder, some people do that to make future battery replacement easier. The 1/2 AA battery holders are available online at many places, like Digikey, Mouser, Jameco, Newark, Amazon, ebay, etc. They come in different solder styles, like with wires, solder leads that poke thru the board, and tabs/leads to solder to the top of the board (which is the kind you would want). The ones with narrow leads for inserting thru a hole in a circuit board might work too if you bend the solder lead 90 degrees outward and lay it flat on the solder pads of your board.

Some of the battery holders are made with a cutout under the center part of the holder so that you can install a ziptie around the battery to hold it securely in the battery holder. Others have a snap-on cover to hold the battery in place. Many are open on top and the holder is made so that the top edge curves over the sides of the battery to keep it in the holder.

If you google search "1/2 AA battery holder" you will find many. Here's a couple of examples:

https://www.digikey.com/product-detail/en/keystone-electronics/1016/36-1016-ND/2137844

https://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/Keystone-Electronics/1126?qs=1Og3oR3ILyAw2ksZ%2fugv3w%3d%3d


However, as Amechanic said, the battery will last several years so if you solder it yourself it isn't that big of a deal to replace it. The battery comes with solder leads or tabs already attached so you won't have to rig some wires like the current battery that's on there.

[rokgpsman]

Your mpu board poker game software is contained in the 6 chips circled in yellow below. They are all installed in sockets so you can remove & replace them fairly easily. The cmos ram chip is not part of the game software, it stores important data for the machine, the sole purpose of the battery is to power the cmos ram chip when the machine is powered off.

The dipswitch on the mpu board has 8 mini-switches. The chart below shows the original things the dipswitches were for, but the game software that is installed on the board may alter this. I can't tell in the photo how the dipswitches are set, you will want to make sure switch #1 is set to OFF for 60Hz electrical power selection.

[shortrackskater]

It looks like this game started out as a Joker Poker and at some time was changed out to the current game.
In fact, the top and bottom glass look like they're different games as well.

[Hiram]

Thank you so much for all the information rokgpsman , I really appreciate it.  If I can find one, would it be better for me to buy the battery with the tabs (rather than thin wires) already soldered on ? I didn't see a tab model on Amazon and my local battery store was useless. I saw one battery on Amazon for $18 but the rest were a lot cheaper ....maybe the Life or capacity isn't the same ? Do I need to buy the $18 one ?  https://www.amazon.com/High-Capacity-Volt-Lithium-Battery/dp/B00EIARE7A/ref=sr_1_2?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1537174849&sr=1-2&keywords=1%2F2+AA+High+Capacity+3.6+Volt+Lithium+Battery


or ..would the $10 one do the same job ? https://www.amazon.com/dp/B005M3D0X4/ref=sxbs_sxwds-stvpv2_3?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_p=6375e697-f226-4dbd-a63a-5ec697811ee1&pd_rd_wg=O1JT1&pf_rd_r=GBMBPEN2YRX4HX3CG7B7&pf_rd_s=desktop-sx-bottom-slot&pf_rd_t=301&pd_rd_i=B005M3D0X4&pd_rd_w=IaggZ&pf_rd_i=1%2F2+AA+High+Capacity+3.6+Volt+Lithium+Battery&pd_rd_r=9214c2f5-4c14-4a2f-899b-985ff8b8ecba&ie=UTF8&qid=1537174849&sr=3

[Amechanic]

Try here.

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.com%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F122758281640

[rokgpsman]

.....Thank you so much for all the information rokgpsman , I really appreciate it.  If I can find one, would it be better for me to buy the battery with the tabs (rather than thin wires) already soldered on ? I didn't see a tab model on Amazon and my local battery store was useless. I saw one battery on Amazon for $18 but the rest were a lot cheaper ....maybe the Life or capacity isn't the same ? Do I need to buy the $18 one ? 

No, I wouldn't ever buy one for $18. Even $10 is more than they typically cost. You can use one with the wide solder tabs or the type that has pigtail leads. Either one will solder to the solder pads on the board and make electrical contact just fine. So get whichever one is easier to find and lower cost. If you are doing the soldering yourself make sure you get the "+" end of the battery connected correctly.

A lot of cities have a place like a Batteries Plus store (or a place that repairs phones) that will have someone that can solder the battery for you. And they may have the battery you need for sale too. But in other cities there isn't a store like this. Like Amechanic said, ebay may often have the best price.

The batteries come in different lifespan versions. This will be noted as the "maH" or "aH" rating. These are not rechargeable batteries, so they have a certain amount of elec energy in them when they are new and then it slowly gets used over time and the energy decreases gradually until they are dead. A normal rating for these 3.6 volt batteries is about 800 to 1200 maH but there are some that have a higher rating, which means they will last longer. But even the ordinary lower cost 3.6 volt lithium batteries will last for several years. So don't worry about that. Part of owning a slot machine is having to replace this battery every few years, just like owning a car or even with a flashlight. If you are concerned about having to replace it again in the future and it is a hassle for you there are different ways to add a battery holder so that the battery can be replaced easier. You can even use a ordinary AA battery holder with wires that get soldered where the battery would be installed. Then you just replace the inexpensive AA batteries when needed. A lot of guys with pinball machines or other arcade machines do something like this.

[sixcardmark]

I have some extra 1200mah batteries with wires.

[Hiram]

As I told Amechanic , my "hobby" has been collecting WW2 Militaria for over 50  years so , this is a whole new world for me and thanks to all of you , I'm learning a lot LOL  ..Thanks for all the info ..I plan on keeping this machine so it's important that I get to know it and how to maintain it.   and Sixcardmark , let me know how much you want for that battery (and postage to NY) and I'll buy it from you ..I'd rather deal with a Forum member than Amazon. Is there a place where I can buy the game IC chips so I can change the game ? If it's too involved , I'll just leave it ..thought I'd ask. Thanks Gents

[rokgpsman]

I think there are folks here on NLG that can provide a set of game chips with a different poker game. One aspect of the site is that you can send private messages to others. Just look over to the left of any message and you will usually see an icon that says "private message". Clicking on that will open up a message box that can be used to send that person a private message (a "pm"). That's a popular way to communicate privately for things. Some members like doing business that way, so you may get a pm now and then when working out a deal that involves pricing, software, parts, etc.

If you change the game chips on your mpu board to another game keep in mind that the glass artwork on the front may not match what the game is. Your belly glass says "Bonus Poker Deluxe" so if you install Joker Poker it won't match the game that is installed. That won't affect the game play and most people don't care but it is something to be aware of in case you are a "purist" about things. You can get additional pieces of belly glass and change it out if you want to do that.

Some PE machine owners have an extra mpu board that has a different game installed in it. When they want to change the game to something else they just swap out the mpu board. It isn't very hard to do, many people say it is easier than changing all of the chips that are in sockets. And you don't run the risk or bending or breaking a leg on the chip when you remove or insert it. And you have that 2nd mpu board as a spare in case anything ever fails on the other mpu board.

And I think you can buy another style of mpu board that is called the "super" board. It was made so that you can install game chips that contain 5 different games. When you power up the machine it will show a menu on the screen with the 5 games, you use the pushbuttons on front of machine to pick the game you want to play. You can exit that game at any time and return to the main menu and pick a different game to play. So you could have Bonus Poker, Joker Poker, Jacks or Better, and 2 other games all in the machine at the same time. Lots of choices!

[sixcardmark]

As I told Amechanic , my "hobby" has been collecting WW2 Militaria for over 50  years so , this is a whole new world for me and thanks to all of you , I'm learning a lot LOL  ..Thanks for all the info ..I plan on keeping this machine so it's important that I get to know it and how to maintain it.   and Sixcardmark , let me know how much you want for that battery (and postage to NY) and I'll buy it from you ..I'd rather deal with a Forum member than Amazon. Is there a place where I can buy the game IC chips so I can change the game ? If it's too involved , I'll just leave it ..thought I'd ask. Thanks Gents

PM sent

[rokgpsman]

..... Is there a place where I can buy the game IC chips so I can change the game?

These PE software sets are so old I don't think any slot dealer has them for sale as a usual thing, just not enough people needing them to warrant keeping them in stock, but I could be wrong. People generally get them from someone else that already has them, or someone that repairs boards removes the chips from scrap board. On old stuff like this it isn't unusual for someone to be able to "make" you a set. That's why you will see handwritten labels (or no labels) on them, instead of the mfr labels that were originally used. So if you decide you want to get a set of game chips just post a Want To Buy request and hopefully someone will respond.

Here's the master list of poker games you can pick from. Since you have a "single game" board you won't be able to install the multi-game software chips. I think that means to avoid the ones that are part number "XM.....".

The master list of PE and PE+ games is attached to the post below (thanks to BrianT), just click on the attachment to download it. Besides lots of different Video Poker games there is also blackjack and keno. (not sure if Keno games may need an additional item like a light pen on your machine, may depend on the version of the keno software).

http://newlifegames.com/nlg/index.php?topic=2547.msg12717#msg12717

[rokgpsman]

Below is what one of the "super-boards" looks like. It has an extra socket near the lower center of the board for a chip that the regular "single-game" board does not have. That extra socket allows the use of the multi-game software that will give you 5 games in the machine at once, menu selectable.

[Rep]

PE+ game chips are hard to find to say the least. I got my PE+ around 10 years back and still haven't found the set I was looking for since then. Back then at least some were floating around but now it's very hard to find any at all. You can also use a single game set with a superboard but if my memory serves there's a jumper that needs to be moved. What I did was just get the multigame chips, I still would honestly prefer the solo set to match my machines glass kit but at least I can play that set I want to. One day I will get that game set I've searched for. Hope my rambling was of some info at least, and yes as mentioned many do have more than one tray/cpu board and just swap them, it is a lot safer than pulling the EPROM chips all the time and bending or possibly even breaking the legs off

[rokgpsman]

I've found that many of the PE game eproms have been uploaded to the various MAME hobby websites. Those guys have tons of software free for the downloading. So if you have a buddy or someone you know that can make eproms you can get a lot of the old PE games. Just google search "MAME jacks of better" or whatever the name of the PE poker game you want to find.

Pretty sure there are some people here (cough-cough) that can provide you with PE game eproms for a fantastically reasonable cost. 

(if you follow up on this please use the NLG private message feature for handling the details)

[Rep]

Yes indeed. Mame indeed does have the set I want but I don't know anyone with an EPROM burner and I have NO CLUE where to even start with something like that, I've changed them and know how to deal with/handle them but as far as burning them I haven't the slightest. But you're absolutely right, I feel that's why the demand has REALLY dropped, everyone is ditching the PE+ for various GK versions ( I refuse to part with my PE+, I just love it) and with the roms out there ppl are just burning their own so sellers have basically ZERO market at this point for them sadly and don't rly even try to sell them anymore