New Life Games LLC
**Reel Slots** Gaming Machines => SIGMA Reel Games => Topic started by: TobyOcc on January 16, 2015, 07:03:08 PM
-
I have just got in a Sigma slot and am getting a RAM error. I am a arcade guy so this is new to me. Any help would be great. Thanks.
Toby
-
Hi,try cleaning the pins, or maybe the ram chip is bad so replace it. This is what i usually do about ram error. With other machine sometimes the power supply causes this error, check the +5 volt.
-
Ok so I pulled the reels and the boards on the back show the right 2 board led on the last one on the right led is off. Any help there?
Toby
-
I Will reply you later i must go
See you
-
Hi,use a digital voltmeter, locate the power supply unit,you will see some indications at the output section, +5v,+12v,-12v... Check the outputs
If you cannot do that, post photos of boards
-
That last light is not on. the other 2 are on. I assume i test those screws on top for power?
-
hi, do you know about electronics circuits? you'll have to take them out and check the voltage outputs, especially the one the led is off.before doing this did you try cleaning pins of ram chip?
if you can find new ram replace it to be sure your ram is good.
-
No, Where are they located, are they on the main board? The slot is not at my shop so I have to keep traveling to mess with it.
-
Yes ram chip is on the main board. It is the biggest board, pull it out and send me a photo (components side) , i will locate it for you.
-
OK her is the board, I pulled the chip that has the red sticker, cleaned, no change.
-
OK her is the board, I pulled the chip that has the red sticker, cleaned, no change.
-
Hi, ram chip is located IC 65
but as seen on your photo,the board is clean,pull out the chip and replace it will sometimes secure the contacts. If nothing changes, the chip is probably bad.
With the board pulled out check the voltage of cap C 135,it would be about 2,5 to 3,5 V
Near this cap,there's a white four pins connector, is it connected to another small board? If yes,send me photo,it will probably be another ram board as on another sigma model
-
OK, nothing goes to the small 4 pin connector. Is it possible to get a new chip? If so where c[size=78%]an I look for one. Not a slot guy so all new to me.[/size]
[/size]
[/size]
[/size][size=78%]Thanks for all your help man.[/size]
-
Ok, i pulled the chip still no go. I need a new chip I think. I have had no luck finding anything close for the Sigma series slots from this year. Any help would be great.
-
Is there a button cell battery mounted on the other side of the board.? I do not see a battery in your photo. Not sure if this model used a battery? But I just had an issue with my SG-50 when I removed the battery and left it out, I would get a RAM ERROR after each time I turned the power off and turned it back on. I Installed a new battery, turned the reset key, twice I believe, turned till the errors cleared and it is working properly now.
-
I'm not sure about this but if the board does not use a battery and as mentioned earlier maybe it uses C135 as a power storage? It is a capacitor and they do deteriorate from age and no longer function properly.
-
Ok, i will check for a battery and try to replace c135. I am at a loss, really like to get this thing running for these people.
-
If you have no luck, post here in the classifieds or contact one of the vendors here.
-
Ok, I pulled the chips but they were super clean so not sure where the problem is. The thing that has me perplexed it the board to the right behind the wheels has a LED that is not illuminated. not sure where to go from here.
Thanks
-
Did you check voltage on cap C 135? If you read less than 2,5v,it is not enough to supply the ram, what i usually do is desoldering it and charge it on a 5v power supply unit till it reaches about 3,5V once done leave it alone for about half an hour check the voltage if it's not decreasing, if so the cap is bad,need a new one, if not put it back and start the machine.
-
Ok so I will pull that cap, then i should be able to hook it up to the +5 on one of my arcade power supplies correct. Is there another way to do this or is that the best way?
Thanks
-
more ideas.....
If you can get a new C135 capacitor you could just replace it and know right away if that is the problem. You will have the old C135 out of the board anyway, might as well put in a new one and be done with it.
Some equipment boards do use a very low-loss capacitor as a battery, they are often called Gold or Golden Capacitors. My parents high end stereo has one, it keeps the internal memory chip working that stores their favorite radio stations, the date & time, even when the stereo is powered off. Companies do it this way so you can avoid having to replace batteries that fail. But eventually even the Gold Capacitor can go bad after many years.
That white 4-pin connector near C135 might be a connector for plugging in an external battery pack. Some older computers had a setup like that. They are called "external" because they are located off the board. We used to also call them "cmos battery packs" because they were used to keep the board's cmos memory working when the computer was shut down. Only 2 of the pins were used, I think it was the 2 outside ones. Anyway, if that is what that white connector is you could get a battery pack from someplace like RadioShack or ebay seller or Jameco and connect it to work in place of a bad C135 if you wanted to go that way. Do you have the manual or schematic drawing for this board? It should show all you need to know.
Like metex said, one of the memory chips is IC65 on your board. It is an 8k memory chip known as "HM6264", they are on ebay for less than $5. You could replace it, especially if it is in a socket on the board, I can't tell from the photo. The one on your board has a speed rating of 150 nsec, so as long as the replacement has a speed number of 150 or lower (like 120, 100, 70 etc) it would be fine.
There is another memory chip (IC77 ??) located just above C135 in your picture and it appears it might be connected by board traces to C135 and associated parts, including the white connector. It is hard to read in the photo but looks like it is a D43256 chip, which is a 32k memory. If it is socketed that would be something else to consider replacing if the other ideas don't fix it. From how close it is located to C135 my guess is this is the memory chip that is kept powered by C135 when the equipment is shut off.
IC65 RAM chip:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/HM6264ALP-10-8K-high-speed-CMOS-static-RAM-DIP28-90-DAYS-WARRANTY-/151113568186?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item232f120fba (http://www.ebay.com/itm/HM6264ALP-10-8K-high-speed-CMOS-static-RAM-DIP28-90-DAYS-WARRANTY-/151113568186?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item232f120fba)
http://www.ebay.com/itm/HM6264AP-12-General-Purpose-Static-RAM-DIP28-/160820597824?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2571a79440 (http://www.ebay.com/itm/HM6264AP-12-General-Purpose-Static-RAM-DIP28-/160820597824?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2571a79440)
Those external battery packs look something like this:
-
Ok, I pulled the chips but they were super clean so not sure where the problem is. The thing that has me perplexed it the board to the right behind the wheels has a LED that is not illuminated. not sure where to go from here.
Thanks
Did you verify that the power supply voltages are correct? And earlier you mentioned that one of the 3 assemblies behind the reels had an LED unlit? Are those assemblies the drive control for each reel?
EDIT: those 3 assemblies behind the reels are probably the power supplies that make +5, +12 and +24 (or maybe +18vdc) for the machine to use.
If you want to measure the power supply voltages and list here what they measure someone here should be able to say if it is correct or not. The RAM error could be caused by a bad ram chip, or it could just be caused by bad voltage/power supply.
Is Sigma W4312 the model number for the entire slot machine? I'm having trouble finding it listed. There should be an idplate on the outside of the machine.
-
Thanks for all that info. I believe this Model is actually a Sigma B-50. No manual would really help. I will test the voltage going to the unlit board, I know it has juice just not sure how much. I think I will pull that cap and just replace it. Start there at least and work through all the ideas you gave me one at a time. Thanks again.
-
Thanks for all that info. I believe this Model is actually a Sigma B-50. No manual would really help. I will test the voltage going to the unlit board, I know it has juice just not sure how much. I think I will pull that cap and just replace it. Start there at least and work through all the ideas you gave me one at a time. Thanks again.
It's hard to know if the RAM error the machine is giving is referring to the cpu RAM at IC65 or if it means the battery backup RAM at IC77. If lucky they will both be socketed and easy to change. I'd do the easy stuff first and hope that takes care of it.
Here's a manual for an old Sigma model, probably doesn't have mpu board schematics but it may have other useful info:
-
Thanks for all that info. I believe this Model is actually a Sigma B-50. No manual would really help. I will test the voltage going to the unlit board, I know it has juice just not sure how much. I think I will pull that cap and just replace it. Start there at least and work through all the ideas you gave me one at a time. Thanks again.
I was curious what these machines looked like, found some photos and good discussions about these old Sigma machines over on the old NLG website.
Check out this one, it pertains to what you are dealing with, specifically talks about the 3 power supplies behind the reels and how the machine won't work if the +5vdc is too low:
http://newlifegames.net/nlg/index.php?topic=17913.0 (http://newlifegames.net/nlg/index.php?topic=17913.0)
-
Sweet awesome!!!. Going to give it a try tonight.
-
Sweet awesome!!!. Going to give it a try tonight.
Good luck with it. While you are at it write down the mpu board number (Sigma part number for the mpu board written on the board), someone here might have the schematic drawing for that particular mpu. The number should be something like 340023 or similar, maybe.
With the machine turned off the voltage on C135 or on pin 28 of IC77 will be the voltage stored in C135. If it is much below 3.5vdc then the memory chip IC77 may be losing its data and throwing that error you are getting.
Here is a newer version of the mpu board you have, looks like Sigma replaced the capacitor C135 circuitry with a lithium battery. Based on the chip date codes I'd say your mpu board was made in the early to middle 1980's, this similar mpu board pictured below is from early to middle 1990's.
-
Sweet awesome!!!. Going to give it a try tonight.
Were you able to get your machine working?
-
Not yet, I need to test the power supplies. I think one of those is the problem. I have not been able to get to see the machine for a couple days.
-
Shut machine OFF. Turn and HOLD reset key. At the same time press and HOLD the reset BUTTON. Keep holding both and turn the machine ON. Continue to hold for 20 seconds. That may do it.
-
Shut machine OFF. Turn and HOLD reset key. At the same time press and HOLD the reset BUTTON. Keep holding both and turn the machine ON. Continue to hold for 20 seconds. That may do it.
Sounds like a job for the 4-Armed Hero!