I just made a new discovery regarding the reel readers. I found that reel position 2 and 3 have quit registering completely in test 3. I can move reel reader 1 and 2 around and they work, but only in position 1. Could I have a bad chip on the Reel Reader Control Board?
The reel reader test is done using test 5, test 3 will check all of the input/outputs.
Assuming you meant test 5, it is unlikely that it would be the reel reader decoder since all chips are common to all reel readers.
That does not necessarily say the decoder is good, you would have to check all of the symbols on card #1 and confirm that they
are reading correctly.
I would examine the wire bundle and connectors to the reel reader cards, it is possible that you have a broken wire or something along that nature.
It is also not unusual to have more than one bad reel reader