New Life Games LLC
**Video Poker, Keno, Slots, 21** Gaming machines => IGT AVP (Including G20,G23) => Topic started by: Ash100 on March 18, 2022, 10:59:45 AM
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I've got a few SMLDs and G20s and every one of them have a standard 3.0 or 3.0M Brainbox, and they're all problematic.
Is this just the nature of the beast? It seems like they'll only boot when they feel like it, or just shut down and re-boot during game play. I've even got one that starts to boot, makes the beep and the Splash Screen and then nothing for an hour.
Another won't even boot with the eKey and Diagnostic, but I just set it up and enabled the games.
I don't know if they're just worn out or were garbage to begin with. I'm hesitant to buy any more 3.0 MPUs to replace them if they're just going to do the same thing.
So, my questions are this..
What fails causing a no boot condition? Or makes one shut down and reboot over and over?
Is there any advantage of upgrading to a 625 or 660 Brainbox and eliminating these older ones all together?
Would the 625 and 660 be more stable and have a longer lifespan?
Thanks.
Curtis ash100
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A lot of these had a lot of service time, so the caps on the mainboards begin to fail. The 625's and 660's are newer, so they will typically have less miles on them. I have a couple of 3.0 and 3.0M boxes that periodically reboot requiring a cabinet memory clear, and they are now spare parts. I had my G23 randomly freeze and boot during gameplay, but I isolated that to the main power supply (I found bulging caps inside). I replaced it with a newly capped power supply and the reboot issues went away. I suggest you open up the main power supply and look at the caps carefully, that may fix some of your issues.
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Thanks Rick,
After doing a little more research and reading your "Observations from a Noob" post in 2017, I was able to piece together a few MPUs over the last few days.
Since I had so many dead ones laying around, I decided to organize them by types and part them out.
I took all of the good working main boards and upgraded them to the Turion 2.1ghz Processor making them 3.0M models. I also upgraded the RAM to 4gb and tried a PNY SSD in them.
That alone made a huge difference.
Next step is to find a few of the e4690 Video Cards and I should end up with 3 good playing Brainboxes.
I did notice, however, that the weakest link in these systems seems to be the PCI Card.
3 of the 6 I have all failed the read/write tests and error out during wipes. I'm not aware of any way to clean up a bad sector, so they will just go into a box until someone decides that they might be able to repair or replace the memory chips.
And finding the video cards may also be a problem, as they now seem to be obsolete. I'm wondering if there is a good suitable sub out there that will work in place of the e4690?
I see the red ones from the 2.0 come up from time to time, but am unsure if they would work. So I am hesitant to buy one to try out.
Thanks again for your insight.
I'll post again if I make any more progress.
Curtis ash100
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For 3.0 you have to use the E4690's to the best of my knowledge, but honestly I've never even tried the old ones. The video cards only help on some of the newer games, but regular avp fam 14 games will work without a video card.
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I did confirm from a friend/tech that the older red cards form the 2.0's will not work in the 3.0 Brainboxes.
I was able to purchase another 3.0M Brainbox that has the e4690 Video Card installed.
The problem I'm having now while testing this box is this.
With the Video Card removed and using the standard video outs from the MPU Board, I get the correct image on both upper and lower monitors, but I have no touchscreen function. When booting to the Diagnostic and trying the Touchscreen Calibration Wizard, it tells me there is no active touchscreen available.
Is that a problem with the MPU itself?
So, I installed the Video Card into the Brainbox and hooked up the Top Monitor DVI Cable to the right output on the Card and booted to the Diagnostic. I received a No Sync message on the Lower Monitor and the Diagnostic Menu appeared on the Top Monitor. Which is a non-touch.
I powered down and switched the cable to the left output of the Video Card and got the same exact thing (Image on Top). Is there a Top and Bottom on these cards?
With the Video Card still installed, I hooked everything back up the old way to the supplied outputs on the MPU. That just gives me a No Sync message on both Monitors. So, I guess the Video Card overrides the normal outputs?
I don't have the DVI to VGA Adapter/Cable yet to see if I can get the correct images on both Monitors. I'll try that once it shows up.
Am I doing any of this correctly?
That's my main question.
And I'm hoping I didn't receive a bad Brainbox since the Touchscreen won't work with the Video Card removed.
Thanks,
Curtis ash100
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When you use a video card, both monitors must be connected to the video card. Your assertion is correct, when the video card is installed, the on-board video connectors are disabled. My boxes are installed horizontally, so the bottom connection goes to the bottom monitor and the top connection goes to the top. The touchscreens on these machines are usb based, so if you are getting a no touchscreen present error, I suggest you look at your USB bus to see what is going on (loose/bad cable, etc).
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Almost good news.
I bought an adapter to go from DVI to VGA, which now I think wasn't a good idea, I've since then ordered an actual cable with the different ends instead of the adapter.
My Video Card works, I think anyway. I have the correct images on both screens and the Touchscreen issue disappeared.
This is what I'm facing now. See photos.
The menu page, and only the menu page displays incorrectly. Notice the Tab for Roulette, it's buried off to the side somehow and the games aren't centered. Possibly to do with that adapter?
The actual game screen is displayed correctly though. Which is weird.
So, either the Adapter I'm using isn't working correctly or I've got a bad load from my Game King Loader.
I'll update this again after the cable swap.
Curtis ash100
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Ash,
Did you ever resolve this menu screen being off like that?
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I have setup at least a dozen G20/G23 with 4690 video cards and have used this DVI to VGA adapter while keeping everything else stock. This is an Active adapter so it actively converts the signal and doesnt just do a pin swap like a cord would.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07D3XZ9SD/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1 (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07D3XZ9SD/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1)
I have also used this with good luck. Notice it is "active" as well.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09XN1NHG6/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1 (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09XN1NHG6/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1)