Is there any "new life" for my GK. I need to learn about my machine

[Roveer]

Back in 2014 I bought a machine that had been upgraded.  I want to learn a bit more about this machine so I can see if I have any upgrade options.

It's got an LCD not a CRT
It's got I think 70 or so games, poker 3,5 & 10 hands, including Super Times Pay and Ultimate X, Spin Poker
It's got blackjack and a bunch of other games (coyote moon, Cleopatra (3 line) etc


The motherboard (i think of it as the backplane) has a part number of: 91422600
the MPU has a part number of: 757044
The Flash Board has a part number: GK003319 and says Super Star Poker 256mb.


Is there any other information I need to look for?
Is this in fact an "upgraded" GK?  From what I have read so far, it seems that it is, the original GK had an older motherboard?


OK, now the sensitive stuff.  I don't want to get in any kind of trouble but I have a few questions.


I really want to play Cleopatra II on this machine.  I saw a YT video of exactly that.  So let me as a few semi-technical questions.


I'm assuming I have upgraded hardware for this cabinet?  I read that having an LCD not a CRT indicates the motherboard was upgraded.  Is this correct?


I'm also assuming that I can't "add" games to that flash board that I already have?  I need to better understand this.


If I wanted my machine to play a different game, is it technically feasible to get a flash board that contains that game and then put it on the 044 MPU?  Is this correct?  I would NOT want to do this because it would just be too difficult swapping boards/static/etc.  I just want to understand that is how it works.


If I were to get a 044 MPU with a flashboard that contained the game that I want, would it be as simple as pulling the MPU that I have and plugging in the new MPU?  Swapping back and forth between my poker games and a newer game?  Is this the best route to take?  It's not particularly cheap though, having to get a whole new MPU.


Am I missing something obvious?  If so, please educate me.  I just want to understand how (technically), parts / boards etc this machine can have different games.


I hope I didn't break any rules.  I'm not soliciting, and not talking about getting illegal roms or software, I just want to understand the technical side.


Thanks,


Roveer

[RB]

You can play Cleopatra II buy obtaining another flash board with Cleo II or having yours re-flashed. Quite frankly you have a much better game selection now. You can not just add Cleo II to your current setup.

[wizeone]

The motherboard (i think of it as the backplane) has a part number of: 91422600
the MPU has a part number of: 757044
The Flash Board has a part number: GK003319 and says Super Star Poker 256mb.

you have a 044motherboard and mpu it's basically as far as you can go in a older cabinet(unless your good with metal work and wiring to try and convert to a AVP

Is there any other information I need to look for?
Is this in fact an "upgraded" GK?  From what I have read so far, it seems that it is, the original GK had an older motherboard?

it mostly likely was made as a 3802 or 3902 with older GK software and someone replaced the motherboard/mpu to bring it up to the newer 044 platform

I'm assuming I have upgraded hardware for this cabinet?  I read that having an LCD not a CRT indicates the motherboard was upgraded.  Is this correct?

you could put a LCD on a old 3802 if you wanted to, a monitor really doesn't make the machine

I'm also assuming that I can't "add" games to that flash board that I already have?  I need to better understand this.

correct, you can not add games to the flashboard

If I wanted my machine to play a different game, is it technically feasible to get a flash board that contains that game and then put it on the 044 MPU?  Is this correct?  I would NOT want to do this because it would just be too difficult swapping boards/static/etc.  I just want to understand that is how it works.

you could get a flash board that contains the game you and and swap it on and off your current mpu. you would have to get a key28 to keychip the game on every board swap.
you stated you really dont want to do that, so the other option was 2 mpus with different software on each one. unless you also have a spare eeprom(some motherboards have them soldered on some are removeable)to swap when you swap the mpus, your still going to have to re-setup the game again.  if your worried about static(which you should be, the flash boards go out just by looking at them sometimes) get with member RB here on the site to get a DEV39 chip. it allows you to bypass the sha and zero checks so risk of a dead flash is lessoned(it also has a built in keychip function)

If I were to get a 044 MPU with a flashboard that contained the game that I want, would it be as simple as pulling the MPU that I have and plugging in the new MPU?  Swapping back and forth between my poker games and a newer game?  Is this the best route to take?  It's not particularly cheap though, having to get a whole new MPU.

see above

I just want to understand how (technically), parts / boards etc this machine can have different games.

the board in the back of the machine is referred to as a motherboard.  the board in the metal tray is referred too as the MPU and it slides in and connect to the motherboard.  the board(s) that plugs in on the MPU is a flash board, daughter board and there are some legacy boards you can get to go on it to play older eprom software sets.

[rickhunter]

The simplest explanation is basically that the flashboard contains the software for your slot machine, getting a different flashboard would change the game the machine plays (kind of like getting a new game for a gaming console, different DVD or cartridge, different game).  Because of Gaming commission rules, slot manufacturers have to make it difficult for a casino to "hide" information by clearing or altering machine data, thus anytime something is done to alter game play or changes to the current game's yield, a clear and setup is required, which cannot be done unless there's a gaming commission person present to see what is going on, that's why you see gaming commission tape all over software related parts, they are like a warranty seal, and if it is broken, the gaming commission knows the casino did something to it.

All slot machines have stored inforation in the mpu and the backplane, this makes sure you cannot move an mpu from one machine to another to alter it's accounting information.  In essence the mpu "marries" the backplane (or motherboard), and a "divorce" will only happen if you clear the backplane and most times, the mpu.  The backplane stores it's information on a little EEPROM chip, so you keep this EEPROM paired with an mpu, to make the switching without re-configuring and clearing, but every time you want to swap games, you would swap both the mpu with the game AND the little EEPROM on the backplane.  As you can imagine, if you end up getting say 20 games, you would need 20 mpu's and 20 eeproms to keep their configuration, something which is not all that practical, not to mention the expense.

So after all that, what am I getting to....

The newer AVP platform from IGT (with a help from a special bios), will allow you to just add the games you like to play.  Of course you would need to buy a new slot machine cabinet configured with the necessary software in order to do that, but it is cheaper than buying 20 mpu's, that's for sure and the games are more current than what you can play on what you have. So it really comes down to your budget.  If all you want to play is Cleo 2, then get the flashboard and learn how to clear and setup your games (it is not all that difficult). If you want to keep your configurations, then you would need to buy an EEPROM chip (probably under $10), a keychip to clear the game,  and an mpu+flashboard for cleo 2.  A caveat is that on some backplanes, the EEPROM chip is soldered, so you would need some soldering skills to remove the eeprom and install a socket, so you can easily remove/install the EEPROMS.

[Roveer]

The newer AVP platform from IGT (with a help from a special bios), will allow you to just add the games you like to play.  Of course you would need to buy a new slot machine cabinet configured with the necessary software in order to do that, but it is cheaper than buying 20 mpu's, that's for sure and the games are more current than what you can play on what you have. So it really comes down to your budget.  If all you want to play is Cleo 2, then get the flashboard and learn how to clear and setup your games (it is not all that difficult). If you want to keep your configurations, then you would need to buy an EEPROM chip (probably under $10), a keychip to clear the game,  and an mpu+flashboard for cleo 2.  A caveat is that on some backplanes, the EEPROM chip is soldered, so you would need some soldering skills to remove the eeprom and install a socket, so you can easily remove/install the EEPROMS.

Interesting.  All this talk about AVP got me thinking.  I remember seeing something about that in the machine. 

Written in magic marker inside the machine is "AVP"



Is there any way I can verify that this is/is not an AVP machine?  Or do we know from the boards that it is not.


Also...  (2 photo attachments).  Is that socketed chip in upper right hand corner of motherboard the eeprom?

[RB]

GK003319 is 044 platform.

[Roveer]

Thank you to all that replied.  I'm getting the information that I was looking for.

[off-track]

Interesting.  I did just the opposite (just before all this crap hit the fan) and converted my Cleo II to a Super Star Poker.  It was getting monotonous and I thought the machine was too tight for entertaining home play despite being on the most liberal setting.

If you really want to make a simple swap setup: 

1. Check if user Tilt has the Cleo II image to reflash a memory board.
2. Source a 256K 044 flashboard.  Start with the Classifieds here on NLG for the best price.  They are getting hard to come by. It took a little time but I finally found one for 1/2 of what the on-line shops wanted.  Coincidentally the one I found was also a Cleo II.
3. Get a DEV39 chip from RB (or two).  Besides other feature it makes the GK boot to a running game in seconds instead of 15 minutes.
4. (optional) A ZIF piggyback socket (mine came with an Aries 28-256-10) makes sure you don't bend pins inserting the boot chip.
5. To really make it easy to swap, find another 044 MPU so you don't have to muck with the settinga any time you change themes (as mentioned previously) and just put the flashboard on it.

If you have a printer the Bettor TITO is another nice addition.


 

[Roveer]

Interesting.  I did just the opposite (just before all this crap hit the fan) and converted my Cleo II to a Super Star Poker.  It was getting monotonous and I thought the machine was too tight for entertaining home play despite being on the most liberal setting.

If you really want to make a simple swap setup: 

Don't get me wrong.  I don't want to give up my original games.  I just want something new.

1. Check if user Tilt has the Cleo II image to reflash a memory board.
2. Source a 256K 044 flashboard.  Start with the Classifieds here on NLG for the best price.  They are getting hard to come by. It took a little time but I finally found one for 1/2 of what the on-line shops wanted.  Coincidentally the one I found was also a Cleo II.
3. Get a DEV39 chip from RB (or two).  Besides other feature it makes the GK boot to a running game in seconds instead of 15 minutes.
4. (optional) A ZIF piggyback socket (mine came with an Aries 28-256-10) makes sure you don't bend pins inserting the boot chip.
5. To really make it easy to swap, find another 044 MPU so you don't have to muck with the settinga any time you change themes (as mentioned previously) and just put the flashboard on it.

If you have a printer the Bettor TITO is another nice addition.

So if I get 2 DEV39's and a new 044 MPU with a Cleo II flashboard I should be able to swap the MPU's to change the games?  I could live with that.  Also, as you stated above, if I go that route I would not have to do any game setup every time I swap?  This part I'm still a little unsure of.


Roveer

[rickhunter]

You still need to replace the eeprom on the backplane with the "married" one, otherwise you will get errors.

[Roveer]

You still need to replace the eeprom on the backplane with the "married" one, otherwise you will get errors.

So this little 8 pin guy on the backplane? 

[sixcardmark]

Yes.

[rickhunter]

AND you are very fortunate it is socketed, so an easy job to replace.