Bally 809 B spiral cam and payout unit

[Blainesgames]

Thanks to Wolftalk and others on this forum I got the 809B reel mech  cleaned lubed and adjusted. Going through the Hopper and checking all the contacts . I took the counter unit apart and was glad I did as it was not stepping up and resting. Cleaned everything including the traces on the contact board and seems to be working ok. Here's the question. This spiral gear seems to fit 180 degrees or 360 degrees. Which way is correct or does it matter. Where should the wipers be in the reset position . Also there is a set of contacts on the spiral gear kind of an end of limit switch . I think the contacts should be open at reset position and I'm guessing the tiny micro switch that rides on the white toothed gear should be in one of the notches.  Just want to make sure everything is in time. As always Thanks

[David Walz]

I disassemble the whole payout unit, cleaning everything by hand. Most of the old lube has become hard and nothing functions correctly.

Wolftalk is the best technician for these slot machines.

[Blainesgames]

Thanks David

[wolftalk]

Wolftalk is the best technician for these slot machines.

I'm absolutely not.  Other folks have way more experience with a lot more machines.  I can read a schematic :-)

wrt the spiral cam, you just need to wipers poking off in the right direction.  See one of david walz's pictures below.  I assume you didn't unscrew the wipers from the cam tho.  On reassembly, you bung on the wipers and spin them until they reach the stop bumper, then install the torsion spring on the back side.

unlike most resetting stepper units, the payout counter needs to spin the wipers 720+ degrees, so there's no barb on the plastic ratchet to determine the reset position.

at reset, the wipers will sit around 6:00, and the reset position is adjustable a few ways.  If you didn't move the zero stop bumper and it's not worn, then the adjustment if necessary will be cocking the contact plate so the wipers step off the end of a numbered trace on the appropriate step.  e.g. wipers step off the 10 trace on the 10th step.

note the zero stop bumper in the below pic is the older style "eccentric cam" where you loosen/spin it to set where the spiral cam stops.  The newer style units have a bumper that is more like a pencil eraser that you screw up/down.

the goal in either case is to have the step-up pawl grab one tooth on the first unit step.  If the stop bumper is too far off, the pawl can grab 2 teeth or not move the spiral cam much on the first step, so it would take three steps to get the wipers off the end of the 2 trace.

the usual way to adjust stuff is:
1] install contact plate snug but not tight.
2] install the wipers and outboard carriage. Use your hand to act as the torsion spring ... or install the torsion spring
3] verify the pawls behave on the first step.  Adjust the zero stop bumper if not.
4] rotate the contact plate as needed to make the wipers step off a trace at the right step.
5] remove the spiral cam and tighten down the contact plate.
6] reinstall the spiral cam, outboard carriage, and torsion spring.  Typical torsion spring tension is 2 turns.  Verify the wipers reset from 1 step up and you can step up the unit after 200 steps (after the first step, you can spin the spiral cam/wipers with your finger so you don't need to step up 200 times.  i.e. step up once, spin the wipers around 720 degrees and verify you can still step up the unit with the step-up plunger.

if the unit is not resetting well from 1-2 steps, you can add a 1/4 turn of tension to the torsion spring.  If you start going over 2-1/2 turns tho, you may have issues with the unit stepping up 200 times would get a shutdown during pay - not that it needs to do that very often :-)

the switch near the zero bumper is open at reset.  It just prevents the payout counter reset coil from firing if the unit is already reset.  Saves wear and tear.  The switch is supposed to close on the first step, but practically speaking it needs to be closed on the second since that's the minimum payout.

the microswitch should not be in a notch at reset or there's a chance the machine will shut down at the beginning of payout ... kinda depends on the safety motor timeout setting and how many coins are played.

[Blainesgames]

Very informative Wolftalk as usual. Per your instructions everything is adjusted and working well with one exception. the step up ratchet pawl does not index the white toothed gear with each time the step up coil in operated. If you apply heavy pressure on the coil plunger it seems to work ok  but it seems thou the ratchet need to go a little to make sure it gets a full tooth. I cant find an adjustment other than moving the coil bracket back a fuzz. These coils are pretty strong and can act differently when powered so it may be fine. As far as  David Walz's comments  You sure have helped myself and others on this forum.    As always Thanks

[wolftalk]

about 1:20 into https://bingo.cdyn.com/slots/videos/Payout_Counter_Stepup.m4v is a close up of the pawls.

usually the step-up pawl is about halfway to the tip of the second tooth when the plunger hits the stop, so you should be able to easily step the unit without relying on the force the coil exerts when yanking in the plunger.

if the step-up pawl is pushing the ratchet around enough for the reset pawl to grab the next tooth (so the ratchet doesn't move much backwards during step-up), then it could be:

1] wrong or broken coil stop

2] worn pivot points on the step up arm - especially where the pawl is connected to the arm.  The pawl should rotate, but have no significant side-to-side slop on the pivot.  A symptom of worn parts is it barely steps manually, but the coil works more reliably because momentum removes some of the slop.

3] elongated hole in the plunger at the step-up arm connection

if you suspect wear, often the parts are interchangeable with other stepper units in the machine so you can swap things to see if it improves.

[Blainesgames]

Wolftalk, Thanks, UDAMAN!