Need help: Link Down - Call Attendant on IGT GD65CF

[xrayarcade]

Hello all! I tried searching


I have absolutely zero experience with video poker/slots (I have a little bit with arcade games) - I got a free IGT GD65CF slant double bonus video poker machine that SEEMS to be fully functional - everything lights up, monitor looks good, but it displays LINK DOWN - CALL ATTENDANT after you boot it up. I have no need/desire in having it be set up as any part of a system or even having a progressive poker payout of any sort on this unit - I am giving it to my father as a Christmas present and I was hoping it would be as simple as setting it on free play (if that's even possible) or making it so you just use quarters or bills but with standard payouts.


Is there a way to get rid of this attempted link so that the machine plays solo? The person I got it from (for free) said it worked for years and then he messed something up in the menu settings at some point that resulted in this error message. It came with a manual that I don't think is for this specific machine - it shows a normal upright cabinet - but it says the Link Down error message indicates that the progressive serial data link is missing. Can this machine work without that link? Is there something I can hard wire or patch to avoid this entirely?


Any help would be greatly appreciated. I haven't even begun to look at the coin mech or bill acceptor yet (it did come with an additional bill acceptor that I may swap out if needed) but first thing is first - gotta make sure the machine will play.


 

[knagl]

Once the machine has booted up and is displaying that message, open the main hatch door and press the small white self-test button inside the machine (likely located near the bottom of the machine, to the left of the monitor).  That should bring you to the Self Test Inputs screen.  Keep pressing that white self test button (approximately 4 times total, but this number varies based on what software you're running) until you get to a page about progressive setup.  Follow the directions on the screen to disable any progressive(s) that are set to "YES" or "ENABLED" (ie. set them to "NO" or "DISABLED").  See the attached image for an example.  If you saw this screen, you'd press hold 1 (the left-most "hold" button on the player panel) to change the setting from "YES" to "NO".

Once all progressives are disabled, press the self test switch again, then close the door.  The machine should test its memory and be up and running.

[xrayarcade]

Awesome, thanks that did the trick!


Incredibly stupid question - is it possible to set the machine to free-play? Or do I need to figure out what is jamming the coin mech? Will try a dollar bill as well as the bill acceptor seems to be working. Wanted to make sure this thing would even work before I started messing with that.






 

[knagl]

You cannot set the machine to freeplay. With the right software you could do a tournament mode that would not require money to be accepted, but chances are you do not have tournament software in your machine currently.

If coins are jamming when you put them in, a good guess would be that there isn't a sample coin in the comparator.

See this video for where a coin should be placed in the comparitor (note even though the video is for a reel slot, the coin comparitor portion is pretty much the same as your video poker machine):

<a href="http://youtu.be/DDZdqBx4CAU" target="_blank" class="aeva_link bbc_link new_win">http://youtu.be/DDZdqBx4CAU</a>

For the bill acceptor, start with $1 bills in good condition, and let us know if it accepts them or not. If it doesn't, please tell us exactly what it does or doesn't do.

[xrayarcade]

Ok, I've made some progress and keep running into new, fun things


The coin comparitor CC-16 is rejecting coins - I put a new coin in the comparitor and it is still rejecting it - stupid question - does this need power in order to work? Looks like one of the leads has come loose from the molex connector. Before I bother with fixing that, I did the "paper behind the rakes" trick so that coins will just pass through the comparitor and go straight into the machine.


I am able to get coins into the machine (they are indeed passing through, the coin detector is detecting them, and they are going into the hopper) but it won't credit up the machine at all. When I close the door, let it reset, and enter a quarter, no credits are added to the machine despite the fact that they are passing into the hopper without issue. The coin detector A B C are all 1s in the input test menu, and they do change to 0 (or one or two of them do) when a coin passes through. Everything else in the self-test inputs is 0, except there appears to be a 1 between Bill Acceptor and Drop Door Open (there is nothing listed next to the number)


My bill acceptor appears to be lighting up - but it will not attempt to pull a bill in at all. The bill acceptor IS enabled in the menu settings. I do have a spare one that came with the machine - I wonder if I maybe should install it? I have not yet opened the bill acceptor lock -I don't have a key so I would need to drill it out. Is it similar to the main door lock where it's more complicated than a standard arcade/candy machine lock and I am going to have to do some heavy duty work?


I also find if I don't really slam the door shut, the sensor for the door open glitches a bit and can't tell if it is open or closed. As long as it is closed firmly it seems to be ok.

[knagl]

The coin comparitor CC-16 is rejecting coins - I put a new coin in the comparitor and it is still rejecting it - stupid question - does this need power in order to work? Looks like one of the leads has come loose from the molex connector.

Yes, it needs power and if there's a wire ripped out of the connector it won't work properly.

I am able to get coins into the machine (they are indeed passing through, the coin detector is detecting them, and they are going into the hopper) but it won't credit up the machine at all. When I close the door, let it reset, and enter a quarter, no credits are added to the machine despite the fact that they are passing into the hopper without issue. The coin detector A B C are all 1s in the input test menu, and they do change to 0 (or one or two of them do) when a coin passes through.

Use the self-test inputs screen to test all three optics.  Use a folded piece of paper or a popsicle stick or similar to block the optics and ensure that all three change to 0 when they're blocked.  If you have one that's stuck on 1 and never changes to 0, the machine is not seeing it as blocked when a coin goes by and will not register the coin as being inserted.  That also might lead to a coin-in error if it doesn't detect all three optics in order when a coin goes in.  It's also possible that the encoder (a piece of plastic that guides the coins past the optics) is the wrong size for the coins being used (for example, a dollar encoder and quarters being used), but let's start with making sure all three optics are working properly before going further.

My bill acceptor appears to be lighting up - but it will not attempt to pull a bill in at all. The bill acceptor IS enabled in the menu settings.

What do you mean by lighting up?  Is the bezel that says "Insert bills $1 to $100" lighting up, or are you just seeing the little red LEDs when you look in the entry of the validator?

I do have a spare one that came with the machine - I wonder if I maybe should install it?

Maybe?  The bill validators have to be ID022/ID023 to be compatible with your machine.  Not every bill validator ever created can just be popped in there.  Pictures of the bill validators you have would be helpful.

I have not yet opened the bill acceptor lock -I don't have a key so I would need to drill it out. Is it similar to the main door lock where it's more complicated than a standard arcade/candy machine lock and I am going to have to do some heavy duty work?

Pictures would be helpful for this, too, so we can help assess the situation, but casinos did typically install high security locks.  If this was previously privately owned, though, it may just be a basic lock.

I also find if I don't really slam the door shut, the sensor for the door open glitches a bit and can't tell if it is open or closed. As long as it is closed firmly it seems to be ok.

There is a minimal amount of adjustment you can do for the door optics to help line them up better.  The optics are a pair, with half of the pair fixed inside the machine behind the armrest, and the other half is on the moving main hatch door (roughly middle of the door when looking left-to-right, closest to you as you operate the door).  It's possible you might need to adjust the alignment of the optics, but keep in mind the hatch door must be completely closed and latched for the optics to align as the latch intentionally blocks the door optics' path unless the door is fully closed and latched, to prevent the casino attendant from failing to close the door completely.  Unless you're closing the door to the point that it's locked and it's not seeing the door as closed, it's probably working properly.

[xrayarcade]

Tried my damndest to fix the coin comparitor harness and could not get the damn pin out so after mangling the connector I decided to just drop $15 on a new harness on eBay. Whoops. Not a big deal since I have a piece of paper stuck under the rake so coins just pass through. Will change this out when it shows up and test the actual comparitor. I also had to pay for new plastic holder clips since one of them is broken...of course they come in sets of 4. It holds it in place with the three, but it jostles out pretty easily.


I did the folded paper trick to test the optics - and indeed, the first coin optic is NOT registering and is stuck on 1 forever. So with one optic down, how do I fix/troubleshoot this?


I had no problem opening the door for the bill acceptor, thankfully. Simple lock. Got through it no problem. I had an identical matching bill collector, so I swapped out the front half (where the bill is accepted) and when I powered up it lit up and sounded like it went through the motions. I see the little green LEDs inside but it won't even try to pull a bill in. Any thoughts on how to test this?


Door optics seem to be working fine. Just gotta close it nice and firm

[Jim]

you can try this fix for your coin optic.  there is a surface mounted transistor labeled Q-2 or Q-4, depends on what board you have, remove it, just GENTLY twist it off using a small pair pliers.  make sure there is no remaining parts on the pads to short out. this will typically fix this error,  you will not notice any difference in operation .  see the attached picture of Q-2 removed

Hope this helps.

Jim

[xrayarcade]

you can try this fix for your coin optic.  there is a surface mounted transistor labeled Q-2 or Q-4, depends on what board you have, remove it, just GENTLY twist it off using a small pair pliers.  make sure there is no remaining parts on the pads to short out. this will typically fix this error,  you will not notice any difference in operation .  see the attached picture of Q-2 removed

Hope this helps.

Jim

Hmm, so does this just disable that sensor? Or does it somehow bypass the "must use all 3" thing?


Also, hilarious question - where the hell IS the board in this thing? HAha

[Jim]

it enables the use of the first optic!

pull the coin mech assembly out of the machine( it is just hooked on the side of the machine)  the board in question is located directly below the CC-16 coin mech, there may be a cover hiding the board,the cover  is removed by sliding it up when the cc-16 is removed.

Jim

[xrayarcade]

Ok so coin comparitor pops out no problem (especially with one of the clips broken). Here is what is directly below it. I was able to pull this whole thing off the side of the machine. Nothing seems to be sliding - I assume the transistor I want to get at is on the other side of this green board?

[Jim]

yes , that is the board,  remove the brown connector, remove the two   screws, open the board section, you will see the components and the one to remove.  re-assemble and re- install in machine.  the optic assembly parts will only go back together one way, they fit into slots on the right side.

take a picture of how it looks before you disassemble it.

Jim

[xrayarcade]

yes , that is the board,  remove the brown connector, remove the two   screws, open the board section, you will see the components and the one to remove.  re-assemble and re- install in machine.  the optic assembly parts will only go back together one way, they fit into slots on the right side.

take a picture of how it looks before you disassemble it.

Jim

Holy crap it worked! Machine is taking coins and they're registering now. Game is operational. Now I need like $650 in quarters in case someone gets a royal flush. Haha. Thanks so much for your help with this! I don't understand at all why there would be a transistor in the game that prevented it from recognizing the coins. So weird.


Now to figure out how the hell to get the bill acceptor working....

[Jim]

not a big deal to figure out either,  pictures help alot,  what type, what is it doing or not doing? 

Jim

[xrayarcade]

It is a Japan Cash Machine DBV-145-SS-6031-B023


When you fire the machine up, it cycles through 10 times (sounds like the gears are moving) and then stops.


The slot where the bills go in lights up green. It will not attempt to pull a bill in when you try to insert one.


Bill Acceptor is ENABLED in the menu screen.


I do have a second bill acceptor that fits exactly the same - I pulled it out and put this one in - just the front half of the machine. Model number is slightly different but I was told that one never worked so I tried to put the new one in. The back part is still the same (and based on the noises at startup, seems to be functioning). There is a cash box installed.

[Stayouttadabunker]

Those are outdated and might take only older, small-headed bills....try a dollar bill for now and get an updated DBV200 from a vendor.

[Jim]

something doesn't sound right, a typical power up sequence only cycles twice, one heavy and one light noise.  10 times seems like the system is looking for the cash box, after 10 ten times then it will stop and disable itself.  check the connector on the right front for proper connection or bent or missing pins.

Jim

[xrayarcade]

Hmm, that makes sense. The machine was delivered to my dad's office already (accepting coins finally!) on Christmas. I had to order some new clips and a harness for the coin comparitor so I'll pull out the bill acceptors and gets some pics when I go down to install those.


Thanks for all the help on this! Greatly appreciated. It was a Christmas miracle I was able to get this thing up and running in time. Haha. Now he just needs to load it with $600+ in quarters in case anyone gets a max credit royal flush 

[knagl]

With zero credits on the machine, use the white self test button to cycle through the setup menu pages.  You can set the hopper limit (or credit limit) to something reasonable so that any payout larger than a quad, for example, would become a hand pay ("JACKPOT - CALL ATTENDANT"), where you'd just turn the jackpot reset key under the armrest once to reset the jackpot, rather than having to sit there and have it pay out hundreds of coins.

Special thanks to Jim for popping in with help with the transistor issue on the coin-in optics.