Title: Re: i have 2 CEI poker machines..need help
Post by: CHOP CHOP on February 16, 2014, 05:59:29 PM
Is there a way to change the payout to a more liberal pay out scheme??
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Title: Re: i have 2 CEI poker machines..need help
Post by: SolidSilver on February 16, 2014, 08:40:51 PM
OK, CHOPCHOP, we're back from the playground, my granddaughter has had her bottle and is taking a late nap;
got some time 'till she wakes up
DIP Switches:
SW1 has no value for you: it is for external communication rate,
and should have no effect wherever it is set. Most machines have all switches ON;
7 & 8 are not even connected on the board.
SW2 #1 & 2 refer to the max number of coins credit the machine will accept before
reverting to coin payout or hand payout if hopper quantity is insufficient. Thus, it is
irrelevant to actual operation; set them as you like.
SW2 #3 & 4 are important, but you really don't have much choice: it sets the max number
of coins that can be played, and when you drop that many in it will automatically deal.
Your machine is labeled for $4000 payout on a Royal Flush; that's the "bonus" payout
for playing 10 coins at the 300-coin Royal Flush single coin displayed.
If you set if for fewer than 10 coins, the player can never get the advertised $4grand;
I confess I do not know what happens if you set it for more than 10:have not yet tried it.
Let us know if you do!
The rest on SW2 seem to have no useful effect on 23.9 software: I suspect they were installed
for other types of games, but do not yet know. I've just started digging into the mysteries of CEI
(Cal Omega) 903/904 software.
SW3: your 904 board probably has a socket with that label, but probably no actual dipswitch installed.
Have not yet learned what it's for: probably for "future uses" when the board was laid out.
Finally, change of payout: yes, like every other electronic slot machine, it is possible, but only by replacing your game PROMS:
the software is built in. According to the screenshot you showed, you have Schedule 7, which matches your screen payout (as it must).
Sched 7 (94%) is by far the most common, and is typical of the early '80s when video poker was new. Indeed, I have not yet found
a working 23.9 with a better payout, even though they exist according to the factory. I am involved at this time in trying to find
other software versions that can be copied for NLG use: that's why I asked for your screenshot.
(By the way, V 24.0 is the same game, but with HOLD buttons instead of DISCARD. It can be used in your machine simply by replacing
the button labels. The only working versions I have found have Sched 2 [96%], but I've not yet been able to get a reproduceable software copy.)
Finally, I'm guessing your first machine does not have the elusive DoubleUp option. (If it does, I want your chips!)
Your second machine (the one in the Arcade housing) apparently does, as it has the extra buttons for it (such as BIG and TAKE)
I believe (slim evidence yet) there are version of both 23.9 & 24.0 made to work in Mini housings without the extra buttons.
I will email you the other manuals I have, with a few notes.
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Title: Re: i have 2 CEI poker machines..need help
Post by: SolidSilver on February 16, 2014, 10:31:25 PM
Oh, and for the monitor: every manufacturer bought monitors off the shelf,
including CEI. Pretty much interchangeable 9-13" CGAs at the time.
Please take photos of every label on every part of the monitor and post them here.
Lots of folks on this site are monitor-cognizant; if there's no immediate help, post on
the specialized Monitor section. I can tell you that if you have an ElectroHome GO7 series,
the world is full of spare parts, replacement monitors, and fixit-folks. If you have a somewhat
more elusive one like the KAGA/TSK, general monitor repair processes (like capacitor replacement)
work well, and monitor fixit folks will still take it on. And, you can (usually) replace it with a modern
monitor (crt or LCD), but that introduces it's own issues including figuring out how to physically
mount it in your machine.
Basically, monitor problems on simple early machines like CEIs is a matter
of how comfortable you are with soldering & wiring; how much you prefer to preserve the original vs replacement;
and whether you'd rather just throw $$$ at someone else to take care of it.
Anyway, post pics; lots of internal pics. That is what draws the interest of folks on this site, and gives them the
info they need to chime in with helpful hints.
...and should you ever give up on a CEI, my shipping address is.......
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Title: Re: i have 2 CEI poker machines..need help
Post by: CHOP CHOP on February 17, 2014, 11:35:37 AM
pictures of machine #1