My first Bally Slot Machine 742A-M1

[OldUKGuy]

Hi
About three weeks ago I bought my first ever slot machine – a Bally 742A.

Very quickly afterwards, I tripped over this forum, or more correctly what turned out to be the closed/archived forum and then a bit later this live one which I’ve signed up to. I’ve done a lot of reading and now have square eyes

The machine was made in Chicago apparently for the UK market as it uses old-style 5 pence (5p) or shilling coins. I bought it from a chap who has had it for 10 years in his summerhouse/man-cave/den at the bottom of his garden; he got it from a local pub in 2009 that was closing down.

It runs nicely, pays out – although I haven’t hit the jackpot yet.

Like most newcomers, I’ve got some (lots of) questions that I hope you chaps can answer for me. Please be gentle and I’ll restrict the questions to 3 or 4 for now.

The pub landlord gave some notes to the machine’s previous owner (written on half of the back of an envelope) in which he refers to the machine as a “Money Honey” and although I can see images of the lady character’s head and a £ symbol on the three reels (see photo),there is no suggestion on the “jackpot glass” on the front right,  that getting three of her in a row would win the jackpot,  so maybe it’s not really a Money Honey?

In the archived forum there were suggestions that these machines could be dated from the plate on the right hand side below the handle, but I don’t think that I ever saw a clear definitive response if that was true or not.  Is anyone able to date mine for me please? The “5p” sign  below the centre reel window would suggest that the machine was made after April 1968, which is when the 5p was introduced, but I guess that the same logo could have read “1/-“ – the shortened version of the word Shilling, the coin that was replaced by the 5p ahead of decimalisation in 1971.

I’ve attached photos of the serial number plate showing the model and serial number (date code??)  “742A-M1, then below that “2297”; and a sticker above it that shows it was made by Union Labor and another number is on that label 8712264.  Finally there’s another number stamped in the metal inside the door on the lower left hand side, below the coin in mechanism “C-654”

Some lights aren’t working, the fluorescent tube above the reel window being the one of most concern at the moment – it’s glass is black is it supposed to be black – the previous owner said that it used to work sometimes.

Regarding it being a Money Honey or not, the sign on the top is missing, as is the fluorescent tube, apparently missing in 2009; anyone got any idea what the sign might have been if it’s not a Money Honey?

I’ll stop there and will say Thanks In Advance to all of you who are considerably more knowledgeable than me…..

[RiseLikeRa]

Welcome UK Guy:


Congratulations on your first, buy certainly not last, Bally Electro Mechanical slot machine.  You have what we call over here a White Sides.  It is quite rare.  I would agree that it is a Money Honey/742.  The missing plastic topper would list your highest pays including 3 Money Honey symbols.  I never say never but finding that plastic insert, in good condition will be VERY difficult.  I would imaging that a reproduction can be made.


Your small florescent reel light is about 8 inches.  It may be burned out OR the round starter found on the door or the left side of the cabinet may be bad also.  These starters go out on occasion and are good parts to keep a supply of.  I would also start putting some work in on the chrome.  It wont get better by itself but it will get worse if you don't give it some attention.


Welcome to the forum.  I am a light weight compared to some of the guys and gals here.  They know a LOT more than I do.  I just hate to ssee a post with a lot of views and no responses.


You can do it!


Welcome to the best NLG forum there is.
Ra

[DavidLee]

Nice machine and welcome to the form.
One easy way to test the fluorescent lamps and starter is to just swap starters.
Do the swapping with the power off. If the suspect lamp lights then it’s the starter, if not then most likely its the lamp. Also check for any loose wire connections, loose starters and or pertaining wires tapped together. Lamps with dark glass at the ends is another indication the lamp is old.


Regarding the machine top plate. There are postings on this site with images of the glass.
Also, Google images.

[rdaniel]

Welcome UK Guy. You purchased a very rare Bally slot machine. It was one of the first electro-mechanical machines produced by Bally for casino use.

It is called a whiteside for obvious reasons. They were produced for only a short time before the white sides were eliminated and formica wood grain used. I would guess it is circa 1963-64. Hang on to it. Its a real collectible.

[Amechanic]

I am surprised that the build date isn’t stamped into to top of the Bally ID Tag? Was this not done on these early machines?

[DavidLee]

Just guessing that dating machines wasn’t thought of at first.

[RiseLikeRa]

Going point David.   That is evidence of how old this particular game is.  just be advised, that my research tells me that the white sides were 120 volts throughout the machine. Mechanics really got a charge out of fixing them! Pun intended.  Be careful.


Ra

[DavidLee]

Great safety advice, Ra.

[Amechanic]

Most white side cabinets are the ones running the transformers. But it’s always better to be safe then sorry.

[rdaniel]

From my experience, early Bally EM's did not have a date stamp on the ID tag. The earliest dates I recall were from 1966. I think this machine predates that.

[off-track]

Some lights aren’t working, the fluorescent tube above the reel window being the one of most concern at the moment – it’s glass is black is it supposed to be black – the previous owner said that it used to work sometimes.

From my experience... black glass on the ends of the tubes usually indicates a bad bulb.

[chibooey]

I have a U.S. 742A-1G from 1968.  Here is a pic of the Topper and the top glass from mine.  The Money Honeys pay on any line as long as all three are showing.

[OldUKGuy]

Hello again,

My apologies for the delay in replying to your warm welcome and informative responses.

So it looks as if my machine is fairly rare and built around 55 years ago, that’s good to hear. 

Of course your answers have raised some more questions, so I hope that you’ll bear with me.

@RiseLikeRa, thanks very much for the guidance about the chrome – see my comment at the bottom of the post.

@DavidLee, thanks for your thoughts about the fluorescent tube and the starters, the left hand connector on the tube is taped, so must have been a bad contact at some time.
 I’ve tested each of the starters in each of the sockets and the tube doesn’t light, so that’s still inconclusive. Each of the three starters is from a different manufacturer and it’s difficult to figure out if they are all the same power or not. There are only three starters, one of the two inside the cabinet is missing, probably because the tube on top and the topper are missing.

One of the first things that I did after finding this forum was to download the Bally Manual that was uploaded by OldReno and I’ve looked in there for clarification on tubes, starters and bulbs; in Page 72 and 73 “Front Door Assembly” reference number 43 refers to the tube and an optional ‘blacklite’ which is what I think I have.

I’ve also looked at the light bulbs, On the right hand side of the door (when open) I can take off the bulb shield and there is only one of two bulbs present! It’s a bulb GE89; in the manual page 73, reference  numbers 16, 17, 18 and 102 it states that the bulb is type ‘66’; anyone know what the difference is?

I’ll need to get more bulb so not sure whether to continue with GE89 or to look for GE66.

I can’t remove the left hand bulb shield because someone before me has rounded off the Philips screw head ☹ and one of those two bulbs also needs replacing.


@rdaniel, thank you for advising me about the date and the machine’s rarity.

@RiseLikeRa and Amechanic, The mains power here in the UK is 240v, the machine does have transformers in it, so maybe stepping down the incoming voltage to 110v. The large transformer mounted onto the inside back side hums.

@chibooey, thank you for posting the two photos of the topper and the Money Honey reels; after 192 consecutive plays yesterday afternoon, I finally got 3 MH’s in view and the machine paid out 18 coins!


By the way, I’m having real difficulty finding anyone/anywhere in the UK that holds Bally spares or that does restoration work – I’ve found two websites so far, that only work on mechanical slot machines rather than EM ones, I’m sure that I’ve seen some posts from a couple of other Brits, but can’t find them right now, it would be good to make contact with them to see if they know of any Bally specialists over here.

That’s all for now!

[OldUKGuy]

...continued


I ran out of the number of pictures that I could post with my previous notes, here's a few more relating to the above post.

[RiseLikeRa]

UK:


Your reply was thorough and worth the wait.  Thank you also for the additional pictures.  As far as the bulbs, many can be found on EBAY.  I wish you were closer because I switched over in many places to LED bulbs.  Many years ago, when Barry Fox moved to Florida, I bought 2 lifetime supplies of incandescent bulbs.  I have been giving them away to my friends locally who have EM games.


You are correct about other Brits on this list.  I remember speaking with a few myself.  I have noticed over the 10+ years of membership and participation in this forum that people come and go.  Not sure how you can identify them?  Perhaps a search of the profiles by location.


You WILL get this game working.  Once you have finished you will get a great feeling of satisfaction followed by the desire to find and fix another one.  So begins the addiction.


Ra

[DavidLee]

Regarding black light lamps, the ones I’ve seen are deep purple in color.
Not widely used in slot machines. Kind of simultaneously with the black light fad in the mid to late 60s.
If a machine has black reel tapes and day glow symbols a black light would have a nice effect.


Like you Ra, I have a lifetime of lamps. Some I got from my Grandfather as he had a lifetime of lamps
from his slot machine repair business.
Some I acquired with machines I bought and some given to me by a friend.


UK Guy, best to by lamps on line. You can get 5 x for the same price as 1 from the local hardware supply.
Not that you need 5, but you never know if or when a another machine will come your way.

[OldUKGuy]

Hi Guys,


Thanks for your replies about the lamps, a quick eBay search shows some in Saint Petersburg, Florida, the cost of postage is almost the same as a box of 10 bulbs.  I also found a guy in Italy selling LED bulbs although his intended market seemed to be owners of pinball machines. 


Been busy today demolishing a garden shed and taking the first half to the local tip (sorry, Household Waste Disposal Site), hope to get time later or over the weekend to search further.


Any thoughts on what rated fluorescent starters I should be looking for?


TIA

[RiseLikeRa]

UK:


The LED bulks that I use are intended for pinball as well.  I think I use a company called cointaker.com.  Purists stick with the same old incandescent bulbs and I respect that.  I at one time had 3 games in the large Continental size cabinet.  They took about 30 bulbs each.  I am a little obsessive and when 1 bulb was out I would have to rush to replace it.   That got old quick.  ALSO the LED's brightened up the glass of the old EM's while NOT emitting the kind of heat that will eventually damage your rare glass. 


As far as the starters, they too can be bought online.  I picked up a box of 10 a few years ago.  If you look closely there may be some markings on the ones that you still have to let you know which ones to buy.  I think that the speed and specs are more important than the brand name.


My advice as free and worth every penny

[/size][size=78%]Ra [/size]

[Amechanic]

The starters are usually F2 or F5. The F5 is used on the smaller boards bulbs and the F2 on the slightly larger bulbs. The starters have the bulb rating on them.

[OldUKGuy]

Hello RiseLikeRa


Thanks for your guidance on the LED bulbs, I guess you are using these flat ones?


https://cointaker.com/products/89-flat-8   


Do they give sufficient all around light from that flat top?


On a UK website I have seen "tower" / "multidirectional" LEDs, but they are rather more (twice the price or higher) than flat ones.


As for your comment below, my cheque is in the post.  [size=0px]" My advice as free and worth every penny  "[/size]